carnesYtragos
by patalano
Summary: When getting a seemingly dead end job is your only option, you gotta go for it.
1. Introduction

This was not the original plan.

_But what exactly was the plan, anyway?_

You know how people think you need to have your life figured out by the time you're off to college; and after that you're supposed to get a stable job, get married, build a family, plant a tree and write a book.

Even though she threw some papaya seeds from her breakfast on the ground of her grandmother's yard once and it ended up growing into a small plant, none of the other check points in that list had been filled so far.

Well, some of it kind of almost happened... But we'll get to that.

————-

Forging a resume hadn't been the easiest task.

Sure, writing bullshit down is easy. The main problem here was what had motivated her to do so.

Her own accomplishments weren't anywhere near good enough for whatever was on top of her list(like she had any idea anymore) and the 30 jobs she had already applied to didn't even bother calling back for an interview, not even to say they weren't hiring or any lame excuse they could use to get rid of her.

Which leads her to Carnes y Tragos.

A small and dark restaurant that stood on the corner of a busy street and she had never even heard about before stepping in.

The odd writing on the carpet outside the front door says "please come in. we've got bills to pay". It looked like a very familiar feeling so she decided to face it as a sign from the universe to convince her to say "fuck it" and open the door, walking into a room full of portraits of random(and weird) things like a sign that said "Employee of the month: Akeem" with a picture of Ed Murphy in the movie "Coming to America", or a black board with "Soup of the day: our enemies's tears" written on it with white chalk.

'A fucking shithole', she thought. Maybe this was were she belonged.

———————-

"Congratulations. You got the job. You start tomorrow at 10:30. Wear something black. 11 dollars an hour. Any other questions you can ask the manager then. She'll handle it from now on"

Piper stood there dumbfounded.

She had handed her resume to the owner herself, who took a quick look at it and... that was it. No trial, no questions.

"Really?! But you didn't even ask me anything"

"Eh" she looked like she couldn't care less "It says here you've been working in restaurants for what, 5, 7 years now? Plus, we need staff for the lunch shift asap. None of these idiots are capable of getting up before 3pm." the woman shrugged "You look like you haven't slept in a year, though. Think you can make it in time?"

"YES! Yes" she tried to keep a calmer tone "I'll be here at 10:30 sharp"

———————————-

_this idea came up the other day and i can't get it out of my head. this is gonna be a short one. _

_vauseman and nicky, obviously, cause i love me some nichols._


	2. Part1

First day of work means making sure you give a good impression so you can actually keep the job and be forgiven for the mistakes you're inevitably going to make while learning how the place works and what you're supposed to do from that point on. Especially considering she had never actually been a waitress.

Piper walked inside the restaurant at 10:20, proud of herself for getting there earlier than she should've.

A standard height girl with dark straight hair was filling up what looked like salt shakers as she hummed along to some old song Piper didn't recognize. She approached her and introduced herself "Hi! I'm Piper Chapman, I'm starting today"

The girl sighs as she realizes she has a new trainee "I'm Alissa. You can start by filling all of these up and spreading them around the tables when you're done. I'm gonna go have a coffee while you do that"

Well, this was the second person she met(after her boss) and she also didn't seem to take work very seriously. Was this the standard?

——

"Alright newbie, here's the deal. Since it's your first day and you're not gonna be waiting tables today, you're gonna have to do some side work. So here's one of your biggest enemies, also known as the coffee machine. We need you to empty out the water. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course I can" Piper is handed an empty old mayonnaise bucket and tries to find the right button. Alissa sighs and presses it for her, allowing the hot water to come out and leaving the girl to do her task.

5 minutes and a few buckets later, the steam from the hot water is already fogging up that section of the kitchen and the blonde is starting to worry the heat is gonna melt the bucket, but fuck, she needs this job. Gotta keep at it.

Alex comes into the kitchen and scoffs "What do you think you're doing?"

The girl was wearing a sleeveless dark green shirt that didn't exactly scream 'uniform', so Piper assumes it's the manager she hasn't met yet.

Piper smiles, proud of herself for doing another task that apparently everyone avoids "It never ends, though!"

"And it never will" Alex angrily presses the button off "The machine is connected to a direct water line, you just fell for one of the oldest restaurant pranks in the world." With that she storms out after asking Alissa to make her a coffee, leaving Piper in disbelief at the manager's shitty mood so early in the day.

The excitement of the first day on the job seemed to dim a little right there.

—————-

Despite being the only waitress other than Alissa working the morning shift, it was a nice day.

Piper helped out as much as she could, considering her lack of knowledge of the menu and a few struggles to find the commands on the computer.

Even though she didn't have a great first impression of her work mate, the girl seemed to lighten up as the day went by and she interacted with costumers with a welcoming smile on her face. Piper actually found her nice to work with, and the only actual boom of clients only lasted about 30 minutes.

Alissa tried to teach her how to make cappuccinos and lattes, and even though she wasn't the best at it, she didn't make much of a mess and they actually had some fun whenever Piper held the milk jar in the wrong position while trying to use the hot air blow.

Not that bad for a first day, after all.

——-

If there was one thing Piper could say she loved about this job, it was the playlists.

They would often play Miles Davis, Janis Joplin, Fleetwood Mac... all the songs she grew up listening to. It was comforting and reminded her of simpler times, making it easier to focus so she could get her mind off her problems.

But not tonight.

The first few days went by smoothly, and she was enjoying the feeling of being useful again. Sometimes the best thing to do when you're not happy is prove to yourself that you're capable of achieving things.

The lunch shift wasn't usually busy which meant not a lot of money coming in, but it gave her the opportunity to pay attention to the menu and ask the kitchen staff everything she needed to know about their dishes. She enjoyed the fact they had a lot of freedom from bosses during the day, seeing as the two girls were usually the only ones there apart from the kitchen staff. She could drink the coffees she prepared and often offered to make some for her work colleagues(with the excuse of practicing for when costumers actually ordered something) and no one was there to object.

Until Sunday.

The manager had returned to the restaurant during the day and locked herself back in the office for most of the day, coming out only to ask Alissa to help out with next night's shift. Some big event was happening in town and they were expecting a big crowd.

When the girl said she couldn't do it because of whatever reason, Piper took advantage of the situation and offered herself to do a double shift that day and help out at night.

Alex hesitated, but said 'yes' anyway. It was either this or resorting to some freelance worker; she was too busy to look for one anyway.

———

As the night staff started to arrive, it seemed like an entirely different place. The atmosphere was definitely dictated by the people present, with around 7 waiters and 2 bartenders greeting each other and talking loud.

They introduced themselves to Piper with handshakes, making her feel welcome and more at ease, despite being a bit scared for the night shift(and the fact the manager was going to be on the floor, observing her every move).

"Highway Chile" by Jimi Hendrix was interrupted halfway, disturbing her light humming to it. All of sudden, a slow but progressing greek song came on.

Nicky came back from the office(Piper had never even looked at it, much less going inside unsupervised), a mischievous look on her face, and the blonde could tell straight away that the soundtrack change was her idea. Why, though, she couldn't tell. It was much better before.

Groups of people were coming inside all of a sudden, and it seemed like all the costumers had texted each other agreeing to come in at the exact same time so they could make the staff start to go crazy.

People coming in meant every table to be greeted in at least 45 seconds; drinks had to be ordered and on the table within the first 2 minutes, and everyone had to be served cold tap water.

Everyone had sections but her.

She had been assigned fairly simple tasks, this time inside the busy bar: filling up and distributing the water bottles, getting the soft drinks out, polishing glasses and refilling the ice buckets as the bartenders prepared the cocktails and interacted with their costumers. Kinda like a runner, but sticking to the bar only. This job was assigned to see how well she could work under pressure(and also because they didn't seem to trust her ability to keep up with the anxious and thirsty costumers), and even though she really needed the tips, it was a chance to prove herself and maybe get some night shifts.

She was starting to feel ambitious again.

With the avalanche of orders coming through, her seemingly easy tasks started to get out of control.

It was like the machine was spilling out orders in the same rhythm as the song; faster each second, and Zorba the Greek' progressed.

At one point it got so busy that even Alex had to step out of the floor and go inside the bar to help. And fuck, she was faster than the two bartenders combined. It finally made sense that she was good enough of an employee to become a manager, but she looked much more at ease when working the bar. Not the grumpy asshole Piper had met twice, but someone that had a way of charming the clients.

As Piper rushed to polish the newly clean wine glasses she got from the dishwasher, almost coughing at the amount of steam that came out of it when she opened the door, she tried not to run into the bartenders that were multitasking(like making rum and coke with one hand and shaking another cocktail at the same time, all the while attending to the anxious costumers that were trying to order).

Piper trips on the gap between the rubber floor mats and drops two cristal wine glasses from her hands by grasping whatever was in front of her so she wouldn't fall as well.

The bartenders all scream "OPPA!" as the tiny pieces of cristal fly everywhere, and the blonde lets out a loud "FUCK!" at the same time. At least the music made sense now.

First thing she does after coming to her senses is look around the bar, fearing her boss' reaction. As their eyes meet, Alex lets out a small laugh and shakes her hand from side to side, probably thinking she was a lost cause.

"Well, that wasn't such a bad reaction" she thinks to herself and takes a deep breath in relief.

"Hey, blondie!" Nicky screams at her "The hell you waiting for? Don't just stand there, burn my ice! Now!"

"Burn your what?"

Nicky rolls her eyes and gestures as she speaks "Get some steaming hot water, throw it on my ice to melt it and clean the fucking reservatory! I can't use this ice now"

"Oh, ok"

"But before you do that, bring me a new ice bucket! I'm weeded out here!"

Why the hell were restaurant slangs so fucking confusing?!

A little further into the shift, the blonde tries to make up for her mistake, still dreading the possibility of having to pay for the glasses she'd broken.

The other bartender, Kat, finished blending a Strawberry Daiquiry and after filling up the cocktail glass and garnishing it with a real strawberry, there was still half as much content left.

In a rush to clean the blender for her, Piper throws away the rest of frozen drink in the sink, causing both bartenders to gasp at it.

"The fuck, newbie!" Kat says "We could've drank that!"

They were drinking on the job?

"You really are something else, girl"

——————

"Hey, sloppy" Nicky says as she's stocking up the freezers with beers for the next day's shift, as the night finally dies down "You coming to South House tonight?"

"I'm sorry?" the blonde is polishing the newly washed cutlery with hot water and vinegar "I don't even know what that is"

"It's a bar that all of us go to on Monday's" she slams the fridge door close and proceeds to wipe its glass doors clean "You should come, lord knows we all need it after this fucking crazy shift"

The first and main reason she accepted the double shift was because someone had finally decided to step into their shoes and Piper was going to be home alone that night.

Second reason was simply rational: she needed the money and night shifts had more drunk costumers; therefore better tips. If only she'd gotten any tables.

Third reason, and the one she wouldn't admit to out loud: she desperately longed company from people her age, since all of her former friends were now avoiding her existence "Alright. I'll come"

—-

As the group approached the entrance, Piper immediately felt out of place. Apparently everyone had taken a spare change of clothes to work so they'd be prepared for the night - however, since she didn't know about the weekly tradition, she just stood there, in her black t-shirt and work pants, beat up nike sneakers on her feet.

They were greeted by handshakes and some even hugged the security guards as they got some colored bracelets handed to them. A kitchen staff member(whose name she didn't remember) explained that they were for skipping lines at the bar. She wasn't given one, and tried not to think much of it. It was her first time there, after all. Not to mention she looked like shit.

Walking inside, the lights were mainly shades of red to make the huge area feel more chill, but there was loud music playing and what looked like more than a dozen benches with sitting cushions on top were scattered around the space, forming "u" shapes imitating booths so groups of friends could sit facing each other. A very simple layout made to look fancier with the right positioning and lighting.

Despite the fact it was pretty packed, the group quickly found some seats(trying to make their way over by walking over some of the benches and around other people).

The reason they went there on monday's was simple: all drinks cost 5 dollars. Beer, gin and soda, vodka and cranberry juice... They were obviously not very elaborated cocktails, more like stuff the bartender could put together in less than 30 seconds, but for 5 dollars, who cares?

Nicky had bought them a couple drinks using her bracelet and Piper downed the gin with what tasted like lemon soda in just one gulp, quickly asking her to grab another one and handing her a 10 dollar bill. "Nah blondie, even though you threw some of my alcohol away you were great help tonight. I got you"

To avoid having to get up and walk back to the bar, Nicky got Piper two drinks at once, and a huge pint of beer for herself.

Maybe it was her outfit or the messy and unkept hair, but gone were the days when Piper felt sets of eyes preying on her. Instead of walking around confident of her appearance, like she once did, she now avoided as much eye contact as possible, not very proud of how much she let herself go in the past year. She finished her second drink at that disturbing realization and looked around the group, trying to catch up on any conversation that would get her mind off those degrading thoughts.

——

"People are so friendly here! I just gave a drunk girl in the bathroom a hair elastic and she invited me to her wedding in January"

"I don't think you're sober enough to judge other people right now, girl" Alessa says and everyone agrees

"What? No! I'm perfectly fine!" she gulps down the last sip of the beer she stole from Nicky and almost drops the glass as she tries to set it back down on the table. Doing her best to hold it in place as it wobbles around, she doesn't let it fall "See? Great reflexes!"

Everyone laughs at the obviously intoxicated girl but Nicky is the first to speak up "I get it, blondie. Starting at a new restaurant is hard!" she motions for their work colleague to get her another shot "It's like, what's the drunkenness standard here? Do I need to turn it up or tone it down? Is everyone still sleeping with everyone or are we all in relationships? Do we blow all our money at work or at another bar? So many questions!" she drowns the newly received shot "Lucky for us you seem to get flustered when you're under the influence so I'm thoroughly enjoying your company right now. And quite frankly finding it very sexy" she winks mischievously.

Piper blushed. It had been so long since she'd been called sexy that it sounded foreign to her.

Whistles came out of everyone's mouths and for a second she thought they were for her, until she looked up and realized her manager was approaching the group.

Really, really tight black pants hugged the girl's hips and a red corset around her torso made Alex look like she owned the fucking place.

Her hair was down for the first time since they'd met and it looked lustrous and adorned her face and black glasses frames perfectly. Wow. It wasn't exactly desire, more like she could only wish she looked half as good as that woman.

Alex whispers something in a random girl's ear and proceeds to kiss her goodbye(on the cheek? on the mouth? Piper couldn't tell from afar) before each of them walk in opposite directions; the brunette coming their way.

She then sits down right next to Piper in a surprisingly good mood, for once "Looks like someone found our little secret spot" she then smiles at the rest of the staff and redirects her attention back to the blonde, speaking loud enough that only the two of them could hear "did any of these idiots buy you a drink yet or am I going to have to be the first one?"

Not wanting to miss out on whatever it was that was going on, Piper lies "you're gonna have to do the honors"

Alex gladly obeys and whispers in her ear as she gets up from her seat "Hold my spot, then"

It felt so good to flirt again.

Sure, if you were to flirt with someone at that crowded bar, it probably shouldn't be with your own boss(especially on your first week), but who cares?

Alex looked so fucking sexy and powerful and when was the last time Piper had even considered the possibility of kissing someone, anyway?

Which was exactly why she didn't make any objections when she stepped out of the bar's bathroom, coming face to face with Alex that was waiting in line and who offered to drop her off at home.

No one saw them leaving and frankly, no one needed to know.

————————-

"You're quite a lightweight, huh, kid?" Alex chuckles as Piper tries to balance herself on the door frame, struggling with her keys.

"I haven't eaten all day so I could get drunk off two beers. It's called financial health, Alex, look it up"

Alex laughs and takes the keys from her hands, opening the door on the second or third attempt, slightly buzzed herself. She then leans her arm against the frame as the girl walks in "Alright, safe and sound. Good night, Piper" she puts her key on the holder she spots on the wall by the door and turns around to leave.

"Boss! Wait!"

Finding it surprisingly sexy that the girl called her 'boss' outside the job(and getting slightly turned on by it), Alex chuckles as she lifts an eyebrow, waiting for the girl to continue speaking

"I-um... Nevermind"

The taller girl lifts up a mischievous eyebrow "Hmm?"

"I-I'm sorry for breaking the wine glasses tonight"

"I don't give a fuck about the wine glasses" she says as she looks the blonde up and down "Is that all you were going to say?"

"No, I, um"

You know what, fuck it.

Piper grabs the girl's face with both hands and kisses her sloppily.

"Well, that's better than that nonsense apology" Alex smirks before kissing her again, grasping the girl's hip with one hand and her face with the other, pushing her against the door with her own body.

Neither of them wanted to waste any time and Piper took Alex's hand, leading her across the small living room into the bedroom, sheets still messily undone from last night as she falls into bed with the girl on top of her.

As their arms and legs tangle into each other, their mouths never leaving each other, Alex feels something uncomfortable poking her hip. She reaches down to remove it from under her, but can't help looking at it. A toy giraffe.

"Aren't you too old to have these kinds of toys in bed?" she waves it so the girl can see it "I mean I'm all about props, but this is not very sexy"

"That's not a sex toy" she drunkenly laughs, the words coming out of her mouth without her even realizing what she was saying "That's my kid's"

The shocked expression on Alex's face makes Piper realize what she had just blurted out, and before she can try to think of something to say that would make the girl stay, the brunette is already walking out the door, fixing her corset and fumbling her pockets for her phone on the way out.

Fuck.

———————

hope you guys enjoyed it, i'm having a lot of fun with this one.


	3. the drama never ends

Waking up somewhat sober, Piper couldn't pinpoint what bothered her the most about the past night.

Alex had started flirting the moment she arrived and she couldn't help herself but to flirt back.

She was initially doing it for her own ego, yes, especially because until then, every time they had interacted with each other, Alex had been nothing but an absolute cunt.

However, outside work, she was a completely different person. Maybe she was being manipulative and only being nice to Piper because she had second intentions, but from what she could recall(which wasn't much, given the state she was in), the girl looked genuinely interested in her and in what she was saying whenever she spoke up, be it to speak to Alex or someone else in the group. Behind the pair of glasses, green eyes were always on her and she could feel them watching _her_.

She had gone to the bathroom because she wanted to look at herself in the mirror, to try and wash her face or wet her hair in any attempt to look better. Maybe she did it because she wanted to feel prettier, or maybe it was because part of her wanted Alex to find her attractive?

So, after trying to "comb" her hair with her fingers and some water from the sink, she drunkenly got out of the bathroom, tripping on her own two feet.

Alex was standing right there as the door opened and Piper couldn't help but hope to herself that the girl was there to chase her, even if she didn't make a move.

Being offered the opportunity to share an Uber, she felt somewhat anxious. It wasn't butterfly's in the stomach, but it was still a good kind of anxiety, one she hadn't felt in so long. A mix of desire and excitement(and she hoped that would make it easier for something to happen between them).

Nothing happened in the car, though; in fact, they barely spoke the whole ride to Piper's apartment. The mix of emotions was causing the blonde to see everything start to spin around, and she was afraid she would feel sick. Alex didn't say anything about it, instead she opted to pay the driver and get out of the car with together, to make sure she would get home safe.

By then, she knew she would have to be the one to make the first move. She wanted it; she wanted to feel someone's touch. She wanted _Alex_ to touch her.

And then there was the baby bomb drop.

She wasn't planning on telling any of her work colleagues about it. She knew it was going to be a hard thing to do, and the fact she was a single mom would get in the way of her getting night shifts or keep her from making friendships that would last outside of work, but for the first time since giving birth, she had something to herself.

Some could say it wasn't a very maternal thing to do, or that a 4 month old needed their mom to be present at all times, maybe even call her selfish and irresponsible for being away from the kid(and no one seemed to care about the fact that she didn't exactly hatch an egg by herself - someone else was involved in the process of creating that life. Even if he never seemed to take responsibility for it. It's always the women's fault, isn't it?!)... but the fact was, even if she desperately needed an income, she also needed something to look forward to and to fill up her days. Even if it meant going to work to serve people food, it was an important step she had to make. She needed to remind herself that she, too, was a person. You can't ignore your own existence. And that's a trap most mothers fall for: the moment their child is born, it's like they're no longer a person but a servant to that tiny human.

There's a stigma that women tend to feel more empowered and stronger after giving birth. Allowing your body to develop an entirely new human being, to nourish a life.

She never felt that way.

Sure, a part of her loved the child. The other parts, however, had resentments about it.

It felt like a burden.

Finding out about the pregnancy was something completely unexpected and she honestly couldn't explain how it happened - she was on birth control and used condoms - but nothing is 100% effective and of course she was that person to be graced with both methods failing.

Considering abortion wasn't possible - she was already 4 months in when she found out about the pregnancy.

Her then boyfriend did what most men do: left her.

Not only did he not want the child, he no longer wanted her either, and just like that, he left. So easy for men to leave while the woman are stuck there, trapped with a human moving inside them, kicking their lungs, making changes to their bodies and causing them to throw up at least a few times a day.

Giving birth wasn't a breeze, either.

After starting to feel labor pains, she had no one to resort to. She stayed home for most of it; half motionless because of the pain and the other part panicking because it was actually becoming much more real; she wasn't going to be alone again. From that point on, she couldn't run away from her responsibilities.

Still in the hospital, she considered giving the child up for adoption and spilled the news to the only person that visited them: her former mother in law.

The woman convinced her not do it. Said if Piper kept the baby she would help out as much as she could and her son would soon fall in love with it, stepping up to the fatherly role.

But Piper herself never fell in love with the kid.

A part of her hoped the second they locked eyes, something magical would happen. A deep connection or that incredible wave of love that washes over you and people talk about. Nope.

She loved the kid, of course she did. In a way. Some way she didn't know how to explain or measure.

And now, waking up by herself, her head still heavy from all the drinks she had, somehow all she wanted to do was to cuddle her child, in hopes everything would turn out okay.

————

After taking a long shower to try and wash away the tiredness in her body(and visibly in her face), Piper leaves her tiny apartment to pick up the baby at her ex's house.

This was the first time he had the child for the night: he was always too "busy". However, now that Piper had gotten a job, he agreed to have the baby over so she could go to work. Probably because, in his mind, now that she had an income, he could stop paying what he called child support(as if you could call 50 bucks a week 'support').

Last thing she wanted to do was to come face to face with him, but as the door opened and his mom was standing there with the child in her arms, rage quickly took over her body. Of course he was somewhere else and left his mom the responsibility.

Don't be fooled: Piper was grateful that the woman always helped her, watching the baby while she was at work and always sneaking something in the diaper bag like formula or new diapers when she noticed they were running low. It was a lot of help considering this was the only person that ever did something for them, but it was the father's turn now. He had to step up to the plate, even if only once. He was supposed to be with the kid for the night, not his mom.

As she walked back home with the baby tied to a sling, she decided she had to reclaim control of their lives again. Even if it meant finding someone else to babysit.

——————

The next few days weren't very eventful.

She had tuesday and wednesday off and decided to spend both days cleaning up the mess her apartment had become after months of neglect as she spent most of the time changing diapers and preparing bottles.

She did all the laundry that had been piling up on chairs and even on the kitchen table, washed the bathroom from top to bottom(after being interrupted by the screaming baby twice), moved the few pieces of furniture in the living room around to try and make it feel more cozy.

It was a start.

But then thursday came and she realized she hadn't taken the time to look for a babysitter, especially because she didn't know any trustworthy ones. Kid would always stay with grandma, but Piper had decided that wasn't going to happen anymore.

She had to take the baby to work with her, otherwise she wouldn't be able to go. And not going wasn't an option.

Luckily for her, the lunch shift was always very calm and there weren't many staff members there, which meant less people would notice.

One of the girls that worked in the kitchen, Zucchini('yeah, like the vegetable' she said as she introduced herself) was friendly to Piper and agreed to keep this a secret and help her check on the baby all the time.

"Please baby, don't wake up until we can go home"

————————

"WHAT THE FUCK" Alex screamed from the storage room, waking up the baby that was now crying hysterically. She was doing inventory and needed to make some orders, which was why she showed up in an unusual time. She storms out into the floor, not caring less about the clients that were eating "Piper! My office! NOW!"

Piper curses herself and looks at Alessa, who nods at her as if to say she could handle the clients by herself. Zucchini also hears the commotion and comes out of the kitchen, walking over to the storage room to try and calm the baby down while both girls walk to the manager's office.

——-

"What the hell were you thinking?! Bringing a baby in here and hiding it?! How long has this been going on for?!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Piper says angrily "Would you rather I skipped work??"

"No, I would rather you leave it with the father or get a fucking babysitter!"

"If only the father acknowledged the kid, you mean?!"

"Well that's your problem, not mine" the brunette says angrily, putting her glasses on top of her head "You're gonna have to leave. Now."

"What?" disbelief washes over her.

No. This can't be happening.

She angrily removes her apron and throws it on the table "You think I wanted this?! You think I had a choice?!"

"Well that's not my problem" Alex opens the file cabinet, looking for Piper's file so she could add up her hours and pay her the remainders for the week "I need someone that's qualified and _available_ for this job and clearly you're not who I'm looking for"

"Alex... Please" her bottom lip quivers and she's about to start crying right now; the fucking hormones from the pregnancy were still getting the best of her "You have no idea how hard it is to be a single mom. Hell, I don't even know how I'm still holding on and my kid is still alive! I have no idea what I'm doing 95 percent of the time! I keep fucking everything up, from making the bottle too hot or even forgetting to bring diapers when we go out! I'm completely broke and everyday I come home scared to find an eviction notice on my front door!" tears are now steaming down her face and she takes a deep breath so she can continue speaking "I'm just trying to provide a somewhat decent home for this human being that, for your information, I never even planned on giving birth to!" she stops herself, realizing she was saying too much. Maternity is hard and every woman that's been through it has thought about throwing the towel and giving up completely, but only a few of them can actually gather enough courage to say it out loud.

Alex lets out a deep sigh.

She did know what it was like after seeing her mom struggle with dozens of jobs over the years just to keep a roof over their heads, bringing left overs from work so they could ingest enough calories.

"Take your apron back" she closes the file cabinet "And take the kid home, but you better find someone to watch it, you're never bringing it back to work, understood?"

Piper stutters, trying to think of what to say as she messily tries to tie the cords around her body "A-Alex, I - thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"What are you waiting for? Go! Make it stop screaming!"

As the door closes behind the girl, Alex plops back down on her chair, taking a deep breath as she adjusts her glasses.

—————

thanks everyone for your support. hope you like the story and the nameless child haha


	4. what leads us to make decisions

The first time Alex laid eyes on Piper was during one of her worst days on the job.

It was not because it was really busy, or that the kitchen wasn't delivering food fast enough or whatever reasons could get the staff(and the manager) stressed out from the constant pressure of working with hospitality - if only.

Yeah, the restaurant had a fun thematic. Their instagram posts were hilarious and they had this whole "don't give a fuck" image that played out convincingly by the staff - especially Nicky, with her quick wit and satires - but "fun" wasn't enough to make sure that liquor and produce deliveries were made on time, or that the staff wasn't causing trouble by asking for days off at the last minute and getting to work late, or even the fact the owner put each and every responsibility in Alex's hands.

She wasn't always the manager at Carnes Y Tragos - before taking the job she was one of their bartenders(and a fucking good one at it), working to make money so she could eventually afford bigger things and a brighter future, like going to business school or, if she was being honest with her deepest and most hidden desires, for getting a history major and becoming a teacher or researcher or whatever it was that would make her life have a purpose and a sense of accomplishment.

But working nights, drinking on the job and leaving work at 1am everyday wasn't exactly the easiest way to do it - she would always be wide awake after leaving work because the rush(and perhaps the 7 coffees a day) kept her up for at least 2 or 3 hours after she got home and took a shower. All of that which meant she would go to bed around 4, after binge watching something on Netflix without paying real attention to it. Consequently she was often waking up at 2pm, just in time to make a coffee(or four), eat something and be at work by 6.

It's an evil trap that most bartenders and waiters fall for and she wasn't an exception - so when the old manager simply didn't show up for work anymore and she was offered his job, she didn't hesitate on saying yes, trying to change things up a bit. Sure, it wasn't as good as getting a major - but it still felt like a step forward. And she decided to take it.

Nowadays, though, most of the time she regretted making that decision.

Budget cuts were drawn by the normally absent owner without further explanation and Alex was trying to figure out what she could do to keep paying the staff on time and how she would have to fire one or two of the kitchen staff members that worked during the day, as they were getting less costumers each day for that particular shift and they really didn't have much to do other than prep work(chopping things up, preparing sauces and deserts etc).

Alex has always hated firing people and knowing they wouldn't have an income or ways to provide for themselves and their family.

In her childhood days, her mom was always at work, except when she picked Alex up from school.

Everyday, through all those years and the dozens of jobs she switched to and from - her mother always managed to take the time to pick her daughter up from school so they could have a conversation about how their day was and she would give Alex a burger or fries that she'd gotten from her fast food restaurant job(which Alex later realized was probably the only meal they gave her mom, and yet, she would save it for her daughter).

Back to meeting Piper, Alex didn't even know they had hired someone new, which made her upset.

This was a constant with their boss - she would often make important decisions and not even bother telling the person that actually ran the place.

So the moment she saw the girl, falling for a stupid little prank, the goofy smile on her face as she tried to sound smart and helpful, all that Alex could do was get even more mad at the new employee and the fact that she now had another paycheck to figure out(all the while she still had been ordered to fire a perfectly good employee).

It wasn't personal.

Yeah, Alex soon figured out Piper's resume was bullshit.

The girl was always asking Alessa and kitchen staff a million questions about the simplest things, she had trouble carrying a tray with glasses and couldn't carry three plates at the same time to save her life.

But she was still trying really hard, and you can't hate on an employee for trying to get better at their job. Especially when your other employees were mostly always getting drunk during the shift, sneaking food(usually fries or calamari) from the kitchen or coming to work stoned out of their minds, eyes red and barely open.

She didn't mean to make a move on Piper, though.

Yeah, sure, she was cute, but she looked like the kind of trouble Alex was looking to avoid right now - she had too much on her plate than to hook up with a girl that looked like she'd be glued to you the second you gave her some attention; the kind of person that fantasizes about your future marriage and how long it's going to take for you two to buy a house together after you've had your first kiss.

But Piper proved that assumption to be false too by grabbing Alex's face and kissing her with so much desire and firmness... She didn't wait for her to make the first move, like the girls Alex usually dates do. She didn't play coy. It was clear she knew what she wanted and that itself made Alex's legs tremble with a desire that consumed her. So she decided to do the only thing she could think of - give in to whatever it was the girl had planned on doing to her. She usually enjoyed being the lead, but being dragged to bed like that just messed with her mind and that it was enough for her to decide - she wanted Piper, too.

But that was it - she wanted Piper right then and there. Nothing else.

However, out of all the things she had imagined about the girl, one that she could never guess was that she came with a package. Especially when said package was a fucking BABY!

—————

"Hold up! You actually fired her?"

"Yes." Alex sighs as she stirs the rice for the radish risotto they were going to have for lunch "But I gave her the job back"

"Savage move" Nicky lift herself up to sit on the kitchen counter "So what's the deal, you guys still fucking or not?"

She rolls her eyes and tries to avoid the question by remaining silent

"Oh so she didn't put out, huh? Is that why you've got your panties all tangled up your ass?"

Alex threatens to throw the wooden spoon she'd been using to stir the food at her friend and lets out a small laugh "Very funny, Nicky"

"No but seriously, what happened between you two?"

"Things." she places her glasses on top of her head "And stuff."

"Alright, alright" Nicky takes a spoon that was on the counter and grabs some of the risotto to try it. Alex looks at her disapproving of her manners but still waits for her to say something "It needs more white wine"

She appreciated Nicky's comprehension.

Even if she Alex had tried to convince herself she had done the right thing by leaving that night, part of her(a very annoying and constant part, she might add) still regretted that decision.

—————

A few days had gone by after Piper had been fired and she had to give in to her ex mother in law, to have her watch the baby while she worked.

It wasn't the most pleasant decision to make but it seemed like the only way out, especially in such a short period of time. She didn't have any time to waste.

Alex hadn't showed up at the restaurant during the day for the rest of the week. It was no surprise since she usually worked nights and their schedules didn't normally meet.

Except on friday, when they had an unusually busy day and Piper only managed to get off work around 6.

They'd bumped into each other but the blonde didn't bother stopping to greet her boss on the way out as she was frantically apologizing on the phone for being late to pick the baby up, rushing out the door the second the night waiter that would be taking over her section arrived. In fact, she probably didn't even see Alex.

Why would she want to, anyway?

————

Saturday has always been grocery shopping day.

Once upon a time Piper actually enjoyed it: walking around the isles of the supermarket, reading all the labels, picking out the nice looking and organic fruits.

Not anymore.

Buying food now meant carrying a 12 pound human on the sling tied around her chest as she hurried to pick out whatever was within her budget and that was at least a bit healthy, but still cheap enough that she could actually afford to buy it. Getting past that self humiliation, she still had to balance the shopping bags and the wiggly baby as she walks a few blocks on the way back home.

One of the night waiters, Cara, had asked Piper if they could trade shifts that day, since she had plans to go out with her boyfriend at night to celebrate their anniversary.

She had to remind herself that just because she wasn't particularly happy, it didn't mean that other people shouldn't be.

She initially feared that Alex would object to their change so she agreed to do it as long as Cara would be the one to ask their manager for permission, but Alex didn't seem to object and allowed it.

Piper, however, couldn't tell why.

She was opening her apartment's door, baby on one arm and her purse hanging off the other, when she stopped dead in her tracks at the person standing outside.

"Piper. Hi."

————-

_my apologies for grammar mistakes and formatting. not the easiest thing to do, writing on your phone._

_i hope you guys can realize that they do have deep feelings. it's just that sometimes we don't understand or even admit to them straight away. most of the time it's easier to hide them, isn't it?_


	5. it’s never that easy

"What are you doing here?"

Even if Alex isn't one to do so, she hesitates.

She had been standing in front of the door for a while, deciding whether or not to knock. She honestly didn't have an answer for that question, or even what other questions she should be asking herself. Why the hell did she decide to go knock on her door instead of having Piper get called into her office during work hours or any other options than just showing up unannounced at her apartment?

Maybe it was because she knew she was in the wrong. She was aware she'd been an asshole to Piper twice now, and she owed her at least an explanation of what her side of the story was(she had way too much pride to give her an apology, even if deserved).

"Listen, Piper..." she tries to help the struggling girl by reaching out to grab the bag that was slipping from her arm and almost falling on the floor "I know that so far I haven't made the best decisions regarding you-" she unconsciously fixes the strap of the bag back on the blonde's shoulder, her touch lingering a little too long, until her gaze switches back to the baby and she snaps back to reality. She opens her mouth but doesn't produce any sounds. For some reason, she can't come up with a follow up to her speech.

"And?" Piper says, irritated, as she adjusts the baby on her hip. So freaking heavy.

"Do you need a hand?"

"No, Alex, I'm doing just fine, dealing with my own shit" she walks further outside, making Alex take a few steps backwards so their bodies won't collapse into each other and Piper closes the door behind them "Is that all you had to say? Because I'm on my way out"

"Um" she scoffs. Nothing comes out.

Piper rolls her eyes as she starts to run out of patience. "I'm sure whatever it is you want to say to me can wait. I have my hands full here as you can see and I've got errands to run"

"Can I walk you out then?" she says, still unsure how to react with the baby's presence. It was a living reminder that this wasn't going to be easy.

Piper rolls her eyes again, too tired to even start an argument. She couldn't recall the last time she slept for a whole 8 hours or even when she last washed her hair.

They walk down the stairs in silence and Alex opens the front door for them to get out.

"Listen, Piper" she closes the door behind all three of them "I know I shouldn't have left that day, not the way I did, but you know" she waves her hand at the baby to set it as an example of what she wants to say, hoping for some comprehension.

"But what?"

"It's not what I'm looking for, you know, being with someone that has a... baby involved"

"Involved in what exactly, Alex? Is that why you left? Because you think I wanted to play house with you?" she furrows her brows angrily and stops walking when she doesn't hear a response, turning around to look deep into the green eyes in front of her "I kissed you and took you to my room because I wanted to _fuck_ you" she tries to cover the baby's ears in vain with one hand, as her other arm is too busy actually holding it. She sighs irritated at her own choice of words and for the cursing, but continues "I'm not _looking_ for anything, Alex. I've got too much on my plate already. It was just drunken mistake. _You_ were just a drunken mistake"

Even if she knows she was in the wrong, Alex is incredibly disturbed by discovering that Piper regretted what happened that night.

Worse than that, she's somewhat hurt.

—

Maybe at a different time in her life, Piper would've been glad for the fact Alex showed up out of nowhere to explain herself; for someone to finally be doing something unexpected, for owning up to their mistakes and trying to fix things. People didn't seem to bother doing any of that since she found out about her pregnancy or started showing, seeing as she wasn't very proud to spread the word about it.

Being a single mom from the start, the only looks she would get were of pity or disgust. As if she had chosen this, like she was the one that abandoned her child, not that fucking idiot boyfriend of hers that discarded both of them, like an used plastic bag. As if they were nothing. Worthless.

Right now, though, she is only annoyed by the late and unwanted attention.

In her mind, she's got enough problems of her own to care about Alex's shitty remorse. Her electricity bill is two months behind, she doesn't think she can make enough money for rent in time, she doesn't have any help with her kid and fuck... _she's not even sure she loves her own baby._

Alex can't help but sigh at the girl's stubbornness and starts to walk away.

But she stops. She stops and turns around, grabbing Piper by the shoulder and turning her so that they were now facing each other. She stares deep into the blue eyes and kisses her.

She takes the **sober** initiative this time and kisses her slowly, both hands on her face, and it's been so long since someone has taken the time to actually hold Piper that she can't help but kiss back. She missed the feeling of someone holding her so much that she didn't even remember what it felt like.

A young girl walks by them and smiles at the sight of what appeared like a happy lesbian couple with their new baby, perhaps hoping one day she would have something like that for herself.

But what even was it?

The baby coos in between them as they move closer, making them break apart at the realization of what they're doing.

"Fuck you, Alex" Piper shoves her by the shoulder with her free hand "I'm not an object you can throw aside and pick me back up whenever you feel like it" she soothes the baby quietly as it starts to get fussy, probably bothered by Piper's aggressive tone "I have been discarded by every fucking person I cared about in my life" she tries to calm the now crying child down by rocking it "I am _done_ with those people and I am done with _you_"

Just like that, she walks away, speeding up her pace and fighting back the angry tears that were threatening to come out. At the same time, she was also trying to calm the screaming child down, feeling drained and overwhelmed at the situation.

Most days she wishes she would just vanish from the world and be completely alone, and this was no exception.

———

_not a fan of this chapter. wanted to get it over with so would get past it and move on. _

_any guesses on what's going to happen next? or even piper's kid's name or gender?_


	6. a slice of humble pie

You can say Alex is tough and she can be hard on people.

She is firm, determined and keeps her staff on a tight leash.

They may think they're sneaky when they're being naughty or taking food from the kitchen, but they've never been able to fool her. She knows everything that's going on, all the time. She might pretend she didn't see something, but she always does.

Being that attentive has its price.

It frustrates her when people try to take advantage of the restaurant or of her, and she often finds ways to reprehend them, so that even if they make mistakes, they know better to respect her.

Especially because, if they don't, they are fucked.

She'll give them shitty sections, or several days off a week so they won't make enough money, probably won't listen to any of their requests and will always call them out on their bullshit. You do not want to be lectured by her.

However, when Alex cares about something or someone, she'll move mountains to ensure that things go smoothly for them.

She'll do it sneakily, in small doses so it won't draw too much attention and her 'tough' image won't be affected.

It was going to be a busy night. They already had 12 reservations made in advance by phone, some of them big groups. This was a sign of the craziness that was about to come.

Restaurants are somewhat like clothing shops: if they're empty, they will remain empty as no one thinks it's worth coming in and checking out the inventory(aka the food).

However, if they're busy, more people will line up outside wanting to get in, assuming that whatever is inside is interesting and worth checking out.

Taking advantage of the busy times ahead, Alex changes the floor plan and puts Piper in the best and busiest section(the one that had their designed sections written on, where every waitress hopes to see their own names when they first look at the board).

If Piper can't seem to find any value in herself, Alex is going to try and change that. Somehow.

———

Busy nights like this are always a synonym of caos.

It was Piper's first time waitressing during the night shift. She knew it was frantic from working as a bar runner the night she and Alex ended up hooking up, but she had no idea what was in store for her.

During the day, it was just her and Alessa, so they rarely ever had designed sections. If it got busy, they would say "you get that half and I'll get this one" and that was enough to keep all the costumers fed and happy.

She looked at the board and realized she had the biggest section that night: six booths that could sit six people each, and two of them could have extensions and sit up to eight or nine guests. Everyone else only had 4 tables.

"You're going to be running like a maniac tonight" Zucchini says as she taps Piper's shoulder "Good luck"

Zucchini was a tall, skinny girl that always wore a stripped hat at work. She had very crooked teeth and a funny laugh outside the kitchen, but when she was working the line, she was always very serious and focused. Piper liked her professionalism, and most of all was grateful for her help trying to calm the baby down when Alex saw it in the storage room. She never said a word to Piper about it, as if she knew she didn't want to explain herself or her situation.

The kitchen staff were all very different from the ones working on the floor. They were all very serious and adamant about how they liked things to be done - from having the waiters and runner wait for them to call the tables whose food was ready to lecturing the waiters that didn't scrape all the food from the plates as they placed them on the dishwashing area.

Everyone on the floor, however, always looked like they didn't give much of a fuck, at least not to Piper's standards.

The bartenders' uniforms had "please, don't be an asshole" written on the back of their shirts and they knew most costumers by name or even what their orders were. All of them, no exception, would drink on the job. If someone ordered a marguerita, they would make enough for two and drink that second half.

Piper takes a deep breath and ties the apron around her waist. Here we go.

Her first table sits down with five people and orders five cocktails and five beers. They all want different kinds, and Piper's confusion begins then, as she's trying to write down their orders and two more tables are seated at the same time. She doesn't know where to go first; if she should put the orders in or greet the new clients. She looks around, anxious to ask someone what would be the best move to make, but out of the corner of her eye, Alex comes out of the bar with two water bottles, one for each table, and mouths "go", so Piper would put the drinks order in.

She's struggling with finding cocktail names on the POS, since they rarely ever sell them during the day and there were many options to choose from. Alex comes from behind her, and scares the blonde that jumps up at the approximation.

"I've already taken drink orders for 52 and 54, so just put it on the system" she hands her a written docket

Piper takes the paper and crumbles it into a ball, ready to throw it away and angry at the girl "I could've done that myself"

"If I were you, I wouldn't waste time with going back to have them order you the exact same things I saved you time with. Besides, 55 is ready to sit down, with 9 guests" she presses the button for her radio so she can speak to the hostess "Yeah, you can sit 55 now", she says as she walks away.

Another 5 minutes in and Piper is already feeling overwhelmed with the amount of costumers and their unusual orders.

As all of her tables sit down, she has to juggle greeting costumers, getting water bottles, drink and food orders, bring two tables the check and feels extremely pressured by the hostess to clean up quickly because they had costumers waiting to be sat.

She's already nervous and running around like crazy, and then table 51 asks for 3 cappuccinos, 1 chai latte and an irish coffee(which she had to run to the bar for, so she could get the whiskey to prepare it).

Piper remembered her first day, when Alessa told her the coffee machine was going to be her biggest enemy, and it all made sense now. The orders would take up a good few minutes of her time(precious minutes that she didn't have, as the other tables also wanted her attention).

She tries to ask her work colleagues for help, but everyone is also busy. Piper can't help but think that there's no way anybody is as busy as she is, but doesn't for once holds her mouth from saying it out loud. Instead, she decides to face the coffee machine.

She spills hot milk all over the machine and on the floor, and tries to leave the kitchen with all the coffees on a tray, only to be stopped by the staff.

"Where do you think you're going? You make a mess, you clean up the mess!"

"I have to get back to my tables!"

"Not before cleaning up"

"My costumers are waiting for me!"

"Then you're wasting valuable time here arguing with me. Clean. Now."

Piper sighs and starts cleaning up the mess as fast and sloppily as she can. Luckily, some girl whose name she didn't remember offered to take over the task and let Piper get back to her tables, sweat already dripping from her forehead.

Alex watched from the kitchen window.

———

Fifteen hundred dollars in sales and 265 dollars in tips. Piper couldn't believe her eyes as she counted the bills, over and over again, to make sure it was true.

She would be able to pay one of her electricity bills so they wouldn't shut it off. Even if she was two months behind, she was only going to pay for one and put the rest of the money towards rent. She couldn't refrain from smiling as she counted the notes for what seemed like the tenth time.

Her tables were the busiest of the night, but she was also the person that ranked number 1 in sales.

Her last costumers were very intoxicated but had a 600 dollar check, and she wasn't going anywhere until they left. There was no way she was giving this table to someone else.

They had been dropping lines at Piper, being loud and saying they wouldn't leave if she wouldn't go with them. They were clearly harassing and making her feel uncomfortable.

Alex was the one to send them on their way out. "Get out of my restaurant" she yelled back at them "And you better leave her a huge fucking tip for putting up with your bullshit"

Piper was silent, but glad when they finally left.

All the staff members had already gone home; from the bartenders to the dishwashing guys, who are usually the last to finish and take the trash out so they can lock up.

——-

Piper and Alex were the only ones still there. Alex was finishing the accounting for the night in her office and for a second Piper forgot she wasn't alone, as she was getting ready to leave, gathering her things as she sat on a bar stool.

"Were those idiots worth it?" Alex says as she approaches Piper from behind, making the girl jump up at the sound of her voice. "Am I really that scary?"

"Not scary, but you are an asshole" she puts the money in her bag "And yes. It was worth it. They left me a hundred dollar tip, after offering me money to suck them off"

"Piper" Alex licks her lips unconsciously as she looks at the girl's mouth "If you need more shifts to make some money you can just tell me"

"Thank you" she shuts her purse closed and stands up from the stool "But I can't take any more shifts until I get a babysitter"

Alex takes a moment at the baby reminder "Well, let me know when you do and I'll make sure to always give you a good section"

She wants to be mad at Alex.

She hates her.

It feels like she's now another person that looks at her with pity; nothing like the woman with so much lust in her eyes as she lifted her shirt up in bed.

However, unlike everyone else that would usually ignore and pretend they didn't see her struggles, Alex was actually trying to do something to help her.

She doesn't say anything as she makes her way out.

——-

_nice guesses, guys! soon you'll know if you were right or not..._


	7. baby baby baby

"So, Vause" Nicky sits by Alex on one of the bar stools of the restaurant and starts to fold the edges of an used and wet coaster "Funny story I heard from a yellow bird" she steals a cigarette from Alex's cart and lights it up "who also goes by the name of a green vegetable but we can skip the details... anyway, I recently discovered that Piper is a mom, huh? Did not expect that"

Alex sighs and fixes her glasses as she stands up to go inside the bar, grabbing a bottle of Jim Bean and pouring more of it into both of their glasses

"Appreciate that" Nicky grabs her glass and clicks Alex's, toasting in silence "This information has really enlightened my perspective on why you put her in the best section of the restaurant and spent the whole night covering up how badly she was doing!"

"She wasn't _that_ bad" the brunette takes a sip of her drink "I'm the manager, I'm supposed to help my staff" she shrugs smugly "Just like I usually save your ass when it's busy and you're too drunk to function"

"Alright, alright" Nicky throws some of ashes from the cigarette in the ashtray she'd made out of the wet coaster "But you know that if you fire me I am probably never going to get a new job and won't participate in sharing our rent fares. Speaking of which, do you think Rafa is going to be able to pay something this month?"

Rafa was their other roommate. The three of them shared the second floor of a house, rented by an old and hippie looking guy. Rafa also happened to be currently unemployed.

Since their living arrangement was with a nice and chill guy, he allowed Rafa to pay her part whenever she was able to do so. They didn't even have a contract for their house, everything was done with a handshake and that was enough for him.

"I don't know. I hope so. Can we go now? I don't wanna spend another second in this restaurant. We've been closed for two hours and we're still here"

"Yeah, yeah" Nicky folds her handmade coaster in half and throws it in a trashcan.

"Holy shit! I don't know how I did not think of this before!"

"Think about what?"

"Make me a Manhattan and I'll tell you"

Nicky shrugs and complies, going behind the bar.

————

"So she's _not a_ babysitter?"

"She will be _your_ babysitter"

"But she's not _a_ babysitter?"

"Geez, blondie. This 'repeating the same words over and over again' game is not fun while we're sober" Nicky throws her head back hitting the wall of the booth she'd been sitting in, being waitressed by Piper. She enjoyed going to the restaurant for lunch whenever Alex had to go during the day for accounting, counting or whatever other task she had to do at the restaurant. Free lunch, benefits of being the manager's friend. "She lived in, I don't know, Australia when she was younger and she stayed at this couple's house watching the children in exchange for accommodation or food or something weird like that. Point is, she's got experience"

"So she was an au pair?"

"Fuck with the technicalities!" she bites another piece of her burger "The point is, we need her to get a job to help with the rent. You need a babysitter. Match made in heaven!"

Piper gives it some thought.

"Speaking of matching and mating" she signals to Alex, who had just walked past them on the phone "You two still a thing or?"

"No! No! Fuck, no"

"Alright, alright. I was just asking to see your point of view"

"What did she tell you?!"

"Nothing, really. Didn't even mention your baby. Whatever it is that happened between you two, your secrets are safe with her"

Piper ponders for a second then rushes off to assist her other costumers as she remembers their existence and the fact that she was, well, at work.

———

On Friday, Piper can't come around to tell the ex mother in law that she's letting someone else babysit for her, so instead she calls and says she "got the day off. Maybe the weekend". After reassuring the woman that no, she didn't lose her job, she told her she would let her know if she was going to need her assistance(aka she'd decide if this Rafa girl could do a decent job with the baby so she could think about maybe picking up more night shifts).

She had called the restaurant earlier that week so she could talk to Alex(seeing as she didn't have her cell number) about the possibility of taking up a night shift. After saying yes, Alex reassured she was going to keep her word and give her a decent section.

Piper hung up after a quick "Ok, thanks. Bye"

———

The shift went by smoothly.

It was nowhere near as busy as the other nights, which also meant less sales, but still much better for tips than lunch. People really seem to appreciate drinks after work!

Piper spent the night trying to subtly avoid Alex, but out of the corner of her eye she did see the girl assisting her costumers every once in a while. She didn't really take the time to see if the manager was doing that with any of the other waiters, but fuck it. Every time she'd see Alex going up to her clients, her anger would increase a bit. "How dare she think I can't handle it?"

She left early, didn't stay to close and no lie, she was in a bit of a hurry. Some part of her was worried about leaving the child with a stranger.

Even if Rafa seemed like a good girl, and the baby was smiling at her from the start, Piper also knew she had the world's most friendly baby so it could be just a first impression and maybe the night went terribly wrong.

Back at home, she usually puts the child to sleep on her own bed at around 9:30(which is when she finally gets to sit down in front of the tv and stuff her face with some junk food that only needs to be microwaved), and it was now already a quarter past 11.

She arrives at home to Rafa sitting on the couch watching Airport Security, but other than the tv, the apartment was silent. Baby was sound asleep.

She sighs with relief and pays the girl, saying she would need her services the next day, in case she was available.

———

Waking up in silence for the first time in a long while, Piper looks beside her and notices the baby is still asleep.

Apparently the first night with the babysitter had been a breeze and the girl said she was free the next day, too, if Piper wouldn't mind leaving the baby at her own house this time. She wanted to apply for some student exchange program online and needed some documents or something like that. Piper wasn't really paying much attention when Rafa explained herself, too tired to function, so she said yes.

Since Rafa's house was close by and on the way to the restaurant, so it wouldn't be a detour from her way home, so why should she mind?

At 5:37pm the next day, Piper was running late as she couldn't find the address Rafa had written down, where she lived with her roommates(who she said would be at work). Her eyes were searching for a number 10 when she saw a familiar face staring at her from the second floor of a house. She stared back dumbfounded, until the figure opened a door that led to a set of stairs coming from outside, separating both floors.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up"

"You live here?"

"You don't have to be shy. Come on in"

Alex opens the door wide so Piper can walk through carrying the baby, the diaper bag and her own bag which had her uniform in it(she had to clock in at 6 and had yet to get to the restaurant and get changed).

"Rafa is coming. She's taking a shower and asked me to open the door for you" the brunette says, eyeliner in hand as she's getting ready for work, and for the first time Piper sees what she looks like when she doesn't have it on yet. "It's a cute baby, Piper, but I can't help but wonder... Does it have a name?"

"Alex, this is Noemi"

————

_thank you, guys. you always make my day._


	8. baby baby - part two

The baby smiles showing a dimple on her left cheek that was, Alex will admit, pretty cute.

"That was not the name I was expecting, kid" Alex smiles back at the baby who had the biggest dimple on her cheek "What is it? Italian?"

Piper nods shyly as she watches their little interaction and smiles. She never expected them to actually interact, even if they've been in the same room a few times before.

Noemi lets out a tiny scream from excitement, fascinated by Alex's glasses that she had put back on and starts laughing.

She has very chubby cheeks and a very small amount of strawberry blonde hair; actually she has two separate patches of hair that don't touch each other so it doesn't cover the whole back of her head, but she also has an adorable little fringe. Her eyes are a dark shade of blue, but it looks like they might be turning gray. Maybe they would even become green soon; her father has brown eyes and her grandmother always says it's unlikely they'll be blue. She is also the most smiley baby you could think of. She's now beginning to produce sounds when she laughs and it's something you'd often hear coming from her.

She is also a very, very easy baby, and usually only cries when she's extremely tired.

The three of them go further inside the living room. There is nothing glamorous about it: brown carpet on the floor, a dark brown couch that faced a tv and a bookshelf filled to the brim. It was a nice sized room, though, with an old wooden dining table and an integrated kitchen. The cabinets were white and most of the appliances were black. You could see two dismounted and freshly french presses on the dish drying rack, a couple of mugs and a clean tupperware. There was an island in the middle with many drawers, making it very functional.

It didn't look much like Alex's or even Nicky's personality, but it looked much better than her Piper's shitty one bedroom apartment, where the kitchen was so small she had trouble fitting a microwave there.

There was a hallway coming from the opposite wall of the tv that led to 3 rooms on one side. There were closets on the opposite side of that wall and two more doors that seemed to lead to two bathrooms: one whose door was open and Piper peeked inside and the other where you could hear the water from the shower running. By the end of the hall, there was another door that, from the glass window on it with a view to some trees, Piper assumed was a balcony.

"This first one is Nicky room, this one is Rafa's and that last door on the right is mine." Alex tried to open Rafa's door but it was locked - "I would tell you to come into my bedroom and put her on my bed but I'm scared you might start screaming that I'm sexually harassing you or something" she says, a little more defensively that she meant to "So let's go back to the living room and you can wait there"

Piper tried to take a peak into Alex's room but all she could see were dark sheets, a blue/grayish color.

"I'm going to be late, I have to go to work."

Piper looks at her wrist watch "You hold her while Rafa is still showering" she tries to pass the baby to Alex, who takes a step back and then forward, coming back to her senses and trying to hold her with difficulty; Alex doesn't remember ever holding a baby in her life.

Piper does hold her daughter and carries her on a sling, but what seems to bring them closer together is the fact Noemi sleeps in Piper's bed.

Not the most excited person to give birth, Piper never bothered buying many things to prepare for when she was due, which resulted in buying things as the baby grows. She didn't have a baby shower to get some gifts(who would go, anyway?) and before she was born Piper was so focused on counting coins so she could afford buying diapers and formula, that she never got a crib. Besides, she wouldn't have to get out of bed in the middle of the night in case Noemi cried.

As far as interactions go, she's not really the kind of mom that makes efforts for the child to quickly develop motor skills. It was odd for Piper, because when she was younger and pictured having a baby, she had all these dreams and ideals about how she'd raise the child. At the same time, she always thought the baby would come at the right time, when she was living in the right house, with the right job and, especially, married to the right person. Not the case.

When she feels safe that Alex is not going to drop the baby, she turns around and grabs the door handle "I'll see you at work"

Alex nods as Piper quickly leaves.

"Can you believe your mother, kid?"

————

_last night's was too short, so..._


	9. little paper note

Saturday is always one of the busiest days for restaurants, which is why they close so late - at 1am.

To sum up, closing at that time means the kitchen will close at midnight and the bar won't serve any more costumers after 12:59.

However, none of that means that Alex can actually leave at 1am, like most staff do. She has to stay around to make sure both bar and kitchen are clean, and that the front of the house has been set up, floor has been swept and moped with bleach, ready for next day's lunch shift.

The earliest she's been able to leave on a Saturday was 1:30am. Since she always knows she's definitely going to be out very late, Alex allows herself to start work later than usual, at 7pm instead of 6.

By the time she usually arrives, most of the staff is already doing their tasks. The kitchen will have a few orders coming in and, since happy hour went from 6 to 8pm, with drinks for half their prices, the bar is usually already busy. Sometimes she doesn't even get to put her bag in her office and goes straight inside the bar to help them out with orders.

Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case tonight as she enters the premises and everything seems to be in order; not busy enough for problems revolving food coming back to the kitchen and table costumers complaining that their drinks were taking too long. Everything seemed to be alright, the wait staff in a seemingly good mood and being friendly to costumers, many of them which were returning clients... and then there was Piper.

Fucking Piper.

Alex knows she's trying to help Piper out with everything she's been doing for the girl but there was also something intriguing about Piper; parts of her seemed completely broken and shattered but there was also this side that stands up for herself and so overtaking, it seems to fill up the whole room. Something about her always seem to catch the brunette's attention, making it hard not to stare at her.

She wanted to know everything that led Piper to end up the way she did, in the circumstances she's in, all the while looking so lonely and abandoned, like a lost puppy.

And sometimes Piper just seemed to heartbroken, so sad, so damaged, and those were the times she distracted Alex the most.

———

Yes, one side of her knows she's automatically making a connection with her own childhood and how this was giving Alex a whole new perspective into what it must've been like for her own mother to raise her on her own, with apparently no family or friends to count on.

It wasn't a comfortable feeling.

She knew her mother could've used a hand many times in the past, so she decided she'd be that hand to Piper. Nothing too big - she would give her the job opportunities she could to help. Well, that's what she promised herself. In reality, Alex keeps getting flashbacks of the moments she had with the girl and finds herself craving more memories to make.

——-

The shift was going smooth.

So far, they didn't have any problems with any costumers, everything was under control. Happy hour ended at the right time, no one was intoxicated to the point of being loud and slamming tables(happens more often than you'd think), no complaints on delays either. Great night so far.

Not having to solve any problems means Alex has time to let her mind wander around for a few minutes every once in a while.

She hands Piper a check holder and walks away, which confuses the girl at first because all of her tables have just sat down and it didn't seem like any of them were ready to ask for the bill.

She opens the folder to find a handwritten note on a piece of docket paper: "if you need to call and check up on noemi, i can keep an eye on your tables"

As she finishes reading the note, her eyes look for Alex's across the room. She mouths 'thank you', but doesn't leave to make a call. She does, however, fold the small piece of paper and puts it in her apron's pocket.

———-

Piper is using the POS to put an order through and her stomach growls loudly. She realizes she hasn't had anything to eat all day - and looking, carrying and smelling food was now proving itself to be torture.

She tries to be sneaky and ask Zucchini for some fries or whatever else she could give her. Their plan works fine until Alex walks up to Piper whose mouth was full and was trying to pretend she wasn't chewing on something.

"What are you eating?"

"Me? Nothing. It was a piece of candy. All done"

"Oh really?" Alex squats down and finds Piper little hiding spot, one of the shelves that held cocktail glasses. "Who gave you these?"

"Nobody" she lies through her teeth, not wanting to get the girl in trouble "A costumer left these"

"Jesus, Piper" Alex has a disgusted look on her face "You don't need to eat out of a costumer's plate. You do know employees have 50% discount on food , right?"

"No, I did not know that. Thank you" she walks away quickly, taking the cup with fries with her so she can finish eating.

What she didn't see was that Zucchini was watching them through the open window kitchen. As Piper enters the room, she's quick to ask if they're in trouble, but Piper says she doesn't think so.

It's not very convincing, considering the past interactions she's seen both girls go through: either Alex or Piper were always being rude to each other. Zucchini wonders if they could be acting towards the other like that to cover something up, maybe what was really happening between them. She decides she will investigate.

————-

"Piper. My office, now"

"Uh oh. Someone's in trouble" Nicky says it low enough so that only she and Piper would hear it.

"Shit. What did I do now?"

"Go. I'll keep an eye on your tables"

"Thanks, Nicky"

—

"Look, Alex, I asked her for it, don't blame her, it's all my fault"

"What are you talking about?" the brunette looks confused at the sudden/completely unexpected confession

"...the fries, I-you-you don't know? Isn't that what this is about?"

"That someone gave you fries? Of course I do. I don't know why you guys insist on thinking I don't see everything that happens around here"

"So you're not mad?"

"No. I don't care, it's just french fries" Alex shrugs "Sit" she gestures for the chair in front of her table, across from the brunette's chair.

Alex brings out a plate of the restaurant's most ordered dish: ribeye steak with a jacket potato and a salad on the side. She's also holding two forks on the fingers holding the salad plate. "Eat"

"What? Why? You're not punishing me, instead you're giving me a real meal?"

Alex chuckles "I'm sharing my meal with you. As a manager, I can eat anything off the menu once a day. I hope you're ok with red meat" Alex cuts a piece off and holds the fork up for Piper to bite on it.

She does and the taste on her tongue is unbelievable. Piper wasn't the biggest fan of red meat but this was cooked to perfection, so soft and easy to bite into, so juicy. When had it been the last time she'd eaten something like this?

Alex smirks and seats back on her chair, folding her arms in front of her and watching the blonde having an almost orgasmic experience.

When there's only a small amount of food on the plate, Piper realizes they were supposed to share it. She looks at Alex that's just watching her with amusement.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm enjoying how much you're enjoying it. Go ahead and finish it"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

Piper takes another bite and almost moans at how good it tastes, causing Alex to let out a small laugh.

"Thank you" she takes the last bite and smiles at the satisfaction "And thank you for holding Noemi today. Was she good?"

"She was great. All smiles. She's a very sweet baby and trust me, I don't like children, in general"

"Of course she is sweet. She's my daughter"

"Right. Because you're so nice to me" she replies in a bat and it makes Piper have a small realization about the way she's been treating Alex. Thankfully, Alex breaks the silence: "She was good. I think she liked my glasses"

"She's in this... grabbing phase. Keeps grabbing everything, especially my hair. But if you tell her to let go she usually does"

"Noted" she places her unused fork on the clean plate in front of them.

Piper can't help herself from repeating that last word in her mind. She realizes she's probably just being silly and snaps back to reality. "I have to go. I still have two tables"

"If you want to leave after you close those, you're ok to go"

Piper nods and stands up to walk out the room. She grabs the door handle and turns back to Alex "Alex, I..."

She waits for her to continue, but it's useless. Piper walks out the door without saying another word.

——

_i like this one. hope you do, too!_


	10. coffee, rum and germs

She closes her tables and leaves around 11:30pm.

Alex's little paper note still inside the apron that was folded and put inside the bag.

The strong rain falling outside didn't help the restaurant tonight as it seemed to scare all the costumers away, and no costumers meant Piper had no reason to stay there any longer, looking at people she didn't want to see or talk to.

She steps out in the rain and considers wether or not she should stay a little longer, possibly wait for the rain to pass, or if she should face it and just go pick the baby up. She would run there and from Rafa's house she would catch an Uber so Noemi wouldn't get wet.

What was once pouring rain soon became a real storm and the girl was now drenched. Water was falling off the sky and also from her clothes as she got completely wet.

By the time she reaches the stairs that lead to their house, she's scared to even ring the doorbell, fearing being electrocuted. She knocks on the door instead and after no response, she decides she's being silly and actually rings the bell.

"Geez! Did you swim your way here?!"

"Would've been easier than running and I'd be just as wet" Piper removes her jacket and twists it outside the doorway, making a lot of water come out of it before she makes her way inside the house

"Do you want to take a shower or something? You might get sick"

"Not really, I just want to go home. Is she asleep? I'll get us an uber"

Rafa tries to convince her to take a shower but it's in vain - the blonde just says she wants to go home and rest after a long and demanding shift.

Rafa goes further inside the house and comes back with a folded sweatshirt "I don't think any of my clothes would fit you but I did fold some laundry before I could put my own clothes in the washer. I don't think Alex would mind if you borrowed this" she hands it to the girl, who hesitates to take it.

"I'm not sure she would want me to borrow it without telling her about it"

Rafa rolls her eyes "Just put it on. Can't have your baby getting sick. She's too young. I'll go get her while you order the ride"

Piper sighs and obeys, putting it on. She catches a glimpse of her own reflection on the window and sees herself wearing the sweatshirt, and it feels so warm and comforting she can't help but bring the sleeve up to her nose so she can smell it. It smells like fabric softener, of course, but she's hopeful she'll catch a glimpse of Alex in it somehow.

——-

You know that urban legend that says mothers don't get sick?

Bullshit.

As Noemi lets out a few cries in the middle of the night, Piper opens her eyes and the second she takes in the light from the bedside table lamp, her eyes hurt and so does her head.

In fact, her face hurts so much it feels like she's just taken a punch. There's so much pressure on it that if she tries to stand up, it's probably going to feel so heavy she's scared she might fall face first. Fucking sinus infection.

She looks at Noemi who already seems to have a runny nose. Not a good sign. She's never been sick before and Piper's not sure how to handle the situation in case she actually gets a cold.

Hopeful that it's not going to be anything other than just a runny nose, she sits on the bed and holds the little girl, trying to rock her back to sleep. Thankfully, it works.

Looking at her phone's clock, she checks the time: 7:51am.

No notifications on her phone other than a random advertisement email from the grocery store with this week's deals.

There was no one wanting to know how they're doing or even to ask if they were alive.

This is one of the hardest parts of Piper's days: the early realization that she's lonely(even if 90 percent of her time includes a completely dependable human being, she still feels alone).

She remembers the note Alex gave her and smiles. As soon as Noemi is asleep again, she fights the growing pain in her forehead and searches her apron for it. She reads it, over and over again, and puts it on the bedside table. She didn't plan on throwing it away for now.

She lies back down and drifts back to sleep.

———

The buzz coming from the phone vibrating on the bedside table wakes Piper back up.

The baby awake beside her, but not crying to try and wake her mom up; an unusual accomplishment that Piper attributes to the potential sickness. She checks the baby's temperature and she seems ok, just a little under the weather.

After surviving a couple of night shifts and scared the baby would need medical assistance in case she got sick, Piper convinces herself that even if she felt like shit, she: 1- was the one with the germs so would be best for Noemi not to be too close to her and 2: she was still strong enough to go back to her usual lunch shift. Sunday's are usually family days and, even if she feels diminished by her own lack of family as she sees the happy costumers together, she enjoys those tables. They usually eat a lot and are good tippers.

Despite sneezing a few times, she pops an Ibuprofen and prepares a hot cup of ginger and cinnamon tea, in hopes it will help her recover. As soon as the babysitter arrives, Piper is headed to work.

———

"While it is a known fact that working the night shift sucks the life out of you, it's only been two or three days and you already look like you're on your way to a 'Walking Dead' themed party, blondie"

Piper gives Nicky a deathly stare "Are you even supposed to be here during the day, Nicky?"

"Well, it is a Sunday" Nicky chops up pieces of lemon that will be used as garnishes and puts them in a tray on ice "Which means normal people have their day off, consequently, us, modern day slaves, tend to work double shifts"

"You do know that slavery is completely different than being paid by the hour with additional tips all the while drinking freshly brewed espresso in an air conditioned room, don't you?" she points at the high brand coffee cup on the counter next to Nicky

"Well my man Drake once said 'you can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning', so who am I to go against such a wise motto?" she winks mischievously "Fancy a sip?"

"What is in there?"

" Do you want it or not?"

Piper grabs the Starbucks coffee cup and takes a sip of what tastes like a mix of mocha and... rum.

"Oh, wow. Didn't actually think you would take up on that offer. If you're always this daring, I could make you some after work invitations, you know, something more interesting, for the two of us..."

"I'll pass, thank you. But I am keeping your drink"

"I see how it is" she throws an ice cube at the blonde that's already making her way out "I like it this new side of you, though, blondie. Makes me understand better why Vause seems to have a little crush on you"

Piper turns around at that last sentence "Alex has a what?"

"Nothing. I said nothing" she says matter of factly, her finger pointed at the girl almost daring her not to bring that statement back up, and resumes chopping up the fruits.

————-

Her head feels incredibly heavier by the time she finishes polishing the cutlery and setting the tables for the restaurant to open.

Maybe it had to do with Nicky's baptized beverage, maybe it was her empty stomach, or maybe it was the entire "drinking on an empty stomach while feeling sick like a dog" combo.

——-

A few hours into the lunch shift and Piper sneaks into the pantry to call Rafa, the babysitter, to ask how her daughter's doing. Thankfully Noemi seemed to be ok with nothing more than a runny nose.

Piper is relieved by that fact, especially because she seems to be feeling worse as

the hours go by. Her eyes are starting to feel like they're burning, and she's positive a fever is coming her way.

——-

Given the events of the past night and the fact Piper stuttered as she left Alex's office, it was no shock that she kept her head down to avoid eye contact when, around 4:30, she saw Alex walk into the restaurant. The girl didn't see her until a little later, when she was trying to froth milk for a cappuccino but lowered the milk jug too far down, causing the air from the machine to make a loud noise and splash boiling hot water on the girl's hands.

The reason for the accident? She had her eyes focused on a certain someone, her thoughts running far from the streaming hot beverage in her hands.

Piper lets out a loud "OW" as she burns herself and Alex and some kitchen staff members are quick to go over to her and ask if she's ok.

"No I'm not ok!" she blows on her hands to make the pain go away but only makes it worse when the hot air comes out of her mouth. "Shit, shit, fuck!"

"Go get us some ice!" Alex screams at one of the chefs, who quickly resumes the task "Here" she places the improvised table cloth and ice bag on the girl's hands "Do you need to sit down?"

"No! I need to feel better and my day just keeps getting worse!" she sneezes on Alex

"Ok, no need to give me your germs" Alex grabs a paper napkin from the plates a nearby waiter was carrying to take to a costumer. She uses it to clean the mucus that came from Piper's sneeze on her left cheek and arm "Do you want to be let out early?"

"Yes"

"Ok then, off you go"

Piper opens her mouth to say something but stops midway to think about it. It was starting to become a habit. "I'll go get my things" she starts to walk out towards the employees changing room

"Which table is this fucking cappuccino supposed to go to?" Alex asks, looking around the room.

.

Before Piper walks out, she stops on the floor, bag on her shoulder, to tell Alessa how her few tables are and what they need and to ask her for a favor.

Alex is by the bar, asking Nicky to prepare her a drink, all the while eyeing the girl that had already put a very familiar sweatshirt on. She didn't think the two of them had a lot in common, especially when it came to clothing style, so it was odd they had the same sweatshirt.

It wasn't customary for Alex to drink before or during work, but every time she encountered Piper, something fucked with her mind. When they spoke to each other, that was it: she would embark on a journey to an entirely different place. Her mind? Puff. Gone.

After Piper walks out, Alex is able to loosen up. Sure the drink helped and even tasted delicious; Nicky was actually really good at coming up with new recipes on the spot(possibly due to her excessive alcohol consumption).

Alessa stops by Alex and Mike, the kitchen manager, as they're discussing the items they had 86'd and dishes they wouldn't be able to put out until next day's deliveries. Alessa takes Alex's arm and passes her a small piece of paper, almost like when your grandma used to sneak you money(or also how you pay your drug dealer).

Alex is slightly confused at it and excuses herself from Mike for a second, opening up the piece of paper that reads "I forgive you for leaving that day". She lets out a laugh at the blonde's audacity.

Pulling out her phone, she goes through her contacts and types out a new message.

——-

_ok next one is almost ready and i promise it's 100% vauseman._


	11. from paper notes to texts

**A -** "So, what exactly was it that finally earned your forgiveness? Was it last night's dinner, me letting you out early today or do you feel guilty for transferring your sick germs to me?"

**P** \- "Alex?"

**P - **"I don't remember giving you my number"

She rolls her eyes at herself. One minute she's complaining that she's lonely and the second someone reaches out to her, she does what she does best: pushes them away. She re- reads the message though,and smiles at the fact she even got it in the first place.

**A - **"Considering that I have access to your file... it wasn't a very hard thing to get."

**A - **Care to answer my question?"

She had just walked by the girl's house, on a street she's been passing by since discovering it was on the way to work, when she took Noemi there. Piper stood there for some moments, remembering what Alex looked like when she first saw her through the window. There was absolutely nothing special about the old two-story house with an uneven fence located in the middle of fucking Connecticut, but she still couldn't help staring at it. Alex had lived only two blocks from her own apartment the whole time since she moved there, still pregnant with Noemi, and for some reason they never bumped into each other before. By the time she's finally able to take her eyes off the house, she pulls her phone up from her back pocket and typing a message.

**P - **"Can't we just focus on the fact that it's a done deal?"

Alex smiles at the answer.

She knew had been right about all the options she'd previously given Piper, but she also knew the girl was way too stubborn to actually admit to any of them. The fact Piper actually put their first night fiasco behind them at all was enough of a relief, but one that had taken a lot of time and effort to happen.

Piper tries to walk the remaining blocks home while keeping her head up so the the jolts of pain in her cheekbones that come and go as the fluids on her face move around won't increase, which tends to happen with full force when she happens to lower her head.

She's had sinus infections since she was a teenager and it is always the same process: she gets crazy sick in a matter of just one day, her face feels like she's taken 10 punches at, her eyes will feel like they burn and she will wish for a faster death, well, at least until the pills kick in and slowly make her feel better.

She hasn't had one of these episodes in a while, which means Noemi hasn't really been very exposed to these kinds of germs and bacteria before. The thought of it scares her - making the baby sick and consequently having to be available and healthy enough to handle it happening and to take care of her while feeling like dying.

Truth be told, having a healthy baby was too tiring on its own. Even with Noemi's usual good mood and easy going personality, she was still completely dependent on Piper and the constant demands usually wore her out.

A sick baby sounded like a nightmare that she was in no way ready to go through.

.

Even if Piper had been feeling worse and worse, she was glad to arrive home and see that Noemi was still doing ok. A couple hours go by though and probably due to the fact she's near her mom and the bacteria, that soon changes.

The blonde manages to feed her a little over half a bottle when she finally gives up on trying to force her to eat and decides to get her to sleep. She's the kind of baby that will fight her mom a little bit because she doesn't want to fall asleep, but once she does, she's gone. She can sleep anywhere or through music and even the lights being on.

After a few hours of walking around the house like a zombie, two cups of tea later(mugs left scattered around the house), she checks her phone to no notifications. For reasons unbeknownst to her, she's disappointed for not getting any. She tries to remind herself this is the usual - it didn't mean anything would change if she and Alex exchanged a few texts, it's not like all of a sudden they were friends now. She questions why exactly she would be texting the girl anyway, but admits she enjoys the attention.

She misses it.

She misses not feeling judged 100% of the time and she definitely misses feeling like someone cares at least one little bit about her or what she's going through.

—-

When Monday arrives, Piper can barely open her eyes when she is awaken by loud cries and fussing, amongst a symphony of screams, sneezes and coughs.

She does her best attempts at calming Noemi down, but she can tell the baby is already feeling under the weather: she doesn't want to drink her formula or even water. All of Piper's efforts are useless until a couple of hours later when the baby is finally too tired of screaming and crying and falls back asleep.

Piper starts crying herself, exhausted.

She searches the bed for her phone like she does every morning, lighting up the screen to check the time. However, another unexpected whatsapp notification plastered on the screen causes her eyes to open wide so she can read it.

**Alex: **Hey, it's me. Do you feel any better?

On top of the screen there's a picture of Alex, taken at what Piper remembered to be South House. She's wearing a button down long sleeved dark blue shirt, most of the top buttons undone obviously to show some cleavage. She's looking up and laughing at something or someone. Piper clicks on the screen so it will enlarge the picture, and takes her time staring at every inch of Alex's face. It's not as uncomfortable as it is staring at her face to face, when she knows Alex will eventually look at her and their eyes will meet. By looking at the photo she can really pay attention to the details of her face, and she takes her time doing so. So much that she almost forgets to text back.

**P:** I'm on my way to a slow and painful death.

**A: **Wow, dramatic much.

**A:** So I guess it's no use asking if you could take up on a night shift today?

**P:** Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were being sympathetic to my disgrace. No, I can't make it to work.

**A:** Are you really that sick?

**A:** What about the baby? Is she ok?

As stupid as it sounds, apart from the encounters with overly friendly strangers that love playing with random babies on the street, someone asking how Noemi was doing was kind of foreign to Piper.

Her costumers and the rest of the restaurant staff were the people she spoke to the most. That and maybe grocery store cashiers, who sometimes try to make jokes with the fact that the only thing the girl seems to buy is coffee and diapers. It has been a while since she's had any friends to talk to.

**P:** We're both in desperate need for some medicine. And a miracle.

**A:** Have you considered going to the hospital?

**P:** I'm too sick to get up and sit at a hospital's waiting room for hours.

She sits there, the apartment silent and dimly lit as Noemi sleeps on the bed by her side, exchanging numerous messages with Alex.

Despite how entertained and lost in the conversation as she is, Piper is also still too sick to feel comfortable standing or even sitting; she needs to lie down for a while and close her eyes to shake the upcoming migraine away. She considers telling the girl she'll stop texting for a while, but figures that would be too silly. They had already talked way more than they should've, anyway. She lies down next to her daughter and falls back asleep.

——

The ringtone starts blasting a shitty song that startles both Piper and Noemi awake.

It's not an alarm this time, but an incoming call.

"Alex?"

"You know, if you saved my number it would make it easier for you to know ahead of time that it's me"

"Shh, Noemi" Piper sits up on the bed and takes the baby in her arms, holding the phone in place with the help of her shoulder as she tries to calm the fussy baby down.

Alex remains silent the whole time, waiting for the girl's attention to return to her.

"I wasn't expecting you to call" she grabs the phone as soon as one of her hands free up "What time is it?"

"A quarter past midnight. Geez, did you spend the day in bed?"

"Yes" she yawns and starts walking to the bathroom, baby on her arm.

When was the last time she went to the bathroom by herself? That one she'd have to really think about in order to remember the answer.

"Well, open your door"

"My what? Why?" she stands outside the bathroom door, trying to press her thighs together so she can hold it in while still on the phone "Alex, I really need to pee"

The doorbell rings the second the blonde finishes the sentence.

——-

This was now her third time standing in the narrow hallway. The walls had a cream colored paint with scrapes on it and an overall aged look. The carpet was dark green and didn't look like it was ever cleaned. The lights on the ceiling were yellow-ish, making it hard for her to see, considering how bad her vision is.

She actually manages to ring the bell this time and is greeted by Piper's most miserable look yet. Her face is swollen like she just woke up from hibernation, but the dark bags under her eyes quickly wash that first restful-ness impression away. She's got a boogie wipe on her hand and the baby on her arm, its little head pressed against her chest, making herself comfortable even in her mom's misery.

"Wow, kid" Alex allows herself in and steps inside the small living room, really looking around at it for the first time "Are you sure you don't need to go to a hospital?"

"Please tell me you've got drugs"

She lifts up a paper bag "Some Flonase, some Sudafed and" she lifts up a wine bottle filled with an orange liquid "freshly squeezed orange juice. Drink all of it and I mean it. I had to put up with Nicky complaining the whole time she chopped and squeezed the oranges."

"I didn't think you would actually come"

"And pass up on an opportunity to save a damsel in distress?"

"Hardly a damsel, but definitely in distress"

Alex laughs at the girl's self pity.

They had exchanged a few messages and the girl had hinted more than once how badly she needed something to help with her sinus infection. Her texts made it look like she wasn't doing well, but seeing her face to face proved it to be even worse than it sounded.

Alex had gone home to get dressed for the traditional South House monday, but when after bumping into Rafa, who asked about Piper, Alex remembered their text messages and redirected her attention into finding whatever medicines for colds or the flu she and Rafa might have at home. She would make a small detour on the way to the bar, which was just across the street from the restaurant, drop the bag off at Piper's house and then go meet up with her friends and workmates.

"Why are you nice to me?" Piper asks as she takes the bag from the girl's hand, dextrally spraying one of the meds up her nostrils and swallowing the other pill dry.

Alex lifts her eyebrows up at the question, one that she doesn't know the answer to. She takes a breath and places her glasses on top of her head, trying to change the subject "Don't you need some water to help wash that down?"

Piper shakes her head 'no' dismissively but closes her eyes as the fluids in her head move around. She pinches her nose with her fingers as the pain comes back in full force.

"Piper? Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine" the lights in the room soon become too bright for her to open her eyes, and she feels dizzy. Noemi seems to notice and grabs her mother's arm in an attempt to hold still.

"You don't look fine" Alex holds the girl by her forearm, trying to steady herself in front of her in case she passes out and falls down.

Piper motions something to Alex that she can't really comprehend but before she has time to analyze it, Piper practically shoves the baby in her arms, the strength washing out of her body as she feels more and more dizzy.

"Ok kid, I got you" she manages to wrap an arm around the blonde's waist, keeping her up and trying to hold the baby on her other arm at the same time, when the blonde's legs seem to turn to mush "Piper!"

.

"Come on, let's get you to bed"

Piper regains consciousness before she passes out. She tries to protest but feels so limp that it doesn't take much convincing for her to agree and start walking towards the room as Alex steadies her up.

It was a really, really small apartment. The living room had a cheap tv stand and a tv with the left half of the screen's pixels dying, as some children's cartoons played in low volume. A light brown suede couch stood by a very beat up wooden rocking chair and the only other piece of furniture was an old, nice looking wood bookcase with a few items scatted in it, like used mugs and a couple used baby bottles, along with a pacifier.

The cramped kitchen was attached to the living room so Alex quickly realized there were only two more doors: one she remembered was the girl's room, and the other door she assumed lead to a bathroom.

Her assumptions that there wasn't a nursery in the apartment are proven correct when she walks inside the room. It was Alex's second time there, but this time the lights were on so she had the opportunity to take a look around, even if she couldn't see properly after dropping her glasses off the top of her head when Piper threatened to pass out.

It was a probably a queen sized bed placed against the wall, and Alex assumed that was where the baby probably slept. The furniture is probably arranged that way so the little girl won't fall off the bed. She recognizes this as the same set up they had in her own house when she was little.

The walls in the room were a light shade of yellow, with some white wooden shelves where numerous things sat: from a stuffed duck toy to a candle and even a bra hanging off one of the pieces of furniture.

Despite the few odd items, the whole place didn't look dirty. Messy, that's for sure, but the kind of mess you make when you're too sick to function.

On top of the bed stood a small artistic representation of a hummingbird, drawn on a canvas paper with charcoal. It wasn't a realistic painting but one that consisted of very fluid lines in different shapes. Intricate but somehow well made and not tacky. Must've taken whoever drew it hours.

Piper, who had been oblivious to Alex's scanning of her surroundings, lies down on the bed and seems to struggle with getting the covers up on top of her body. The brunette notices it and spreads the blanket on top of her, wondering if she should put the baby down on the bed, but stands still, no longer as scared to drop Noemi. She wishes someone would give her instructions on what to do next, which was a very rare thing for Alex.

She heads back to the living room to find her glasses, baby still on her arm, and takes another good look at everything as she walks by.

Noemi looks pretty beat up herself as she leans her head on the girl's shoulder, seeking some comfort, her tiny hand grabbing the side of Alex's arm, right on her tattoo, steadying herself.

After maneuvering how to squat down without dropping the girl, she finally retrieves the pair of glasses from the floor.

Alex returns to the bedroom with all the medicine she had grabbed scattered around her own house and the wine-orange juice bottle under that arm. She places everything on the white nightstand and sits on the opposite side of the mattress, almost holding herself up so she wouldn't fall, especially because the baby still on her lap and she doesn't have a lot of experience holding another human being up "You have to keep hydrated. Drink a lot of water"

Piper shakes her head 'no' like a child. She doesn't plan on putting anything inside her body, especially not when everything already inside was threatening to come back out.

"Can you stay?" Piper squints as she opens her eyes to look at the brunette "For a little while. Just to make sure I don't die. Or that she won't" she points at the baby who looked calm in her arms.

Alex chuckles "We're back to being dramatic, I see" she sits back down more comfortably as the blonde scoots to the side, giving them more space to join "Yeah, I guess I can stay until you two fall asleep"

Piper doesn't say anything, but she notices that Noemi is already half asleep against Alex's chest.


	12. KISS HER, YOU FOOL!

By 1 in the morning, Alex is still sitting on the bed, her torso against the headboard and both legs stretched out on the mattress.

Piper has since woken up from a short nap that was interrupted by a coughing fit. She adjusts herself so she's now laying sideways on the bed, her feet touching the wall as she places her head on Alex's lap. She has trouble falling back asleep and, instead of rushing out the door, the brunette decides to stay a little longer and starts removing loose strands of blonde hair from her face. She massages her temples gently, knowing she's in pain.

"Alex"

"Yeah?"

"The day I took her to your house" Piper focuses her vision on Alex's hand who now stood motionless "You said you weren't expecting her to be called Noemi. Did you ever stop to wonder what her name was before that?"

Alex chuckles at the question "I've thought about a lot of things since I met you two, Piper" she looks at the sleeping baby next to them "If your question is about an specific name I had imagined for her, then no, I had no idea what she was called. But it is an unusual name, you know that. I assume people probably mistake her for 'Naomi' all the time, don't they?"

The blonde nods and is silent for a second, wondering how much she could share. She hesitates but realizes Alex has actually proved herself to be at least a good friend the past few days - "I didn't choose it"

"Hmm?"

"No, um... Her father's mother did. I couldn't come up with a name, I didn't really get very attached to her after she was born"

It was noticeable.

Maybe Piper thought she could hide it, but Alex could see it clear as day.

Usually moms with new babies can't stop talking about them, their little mannerisms or how their baby is "soooo smart for their age". Most of them put their infants photo as their phone backgrounds and spend the whole work day complaining about how much they want to go home and see their kids.

Piper only ever mentions her baby when she's talking about things she can't do or shifts she can't take up on.

"Now can I ask you something?"

The blonde nods yes. Talking about these things with Alex wasn't as hard as she initially figured it would be.

"What was it like?" Alex takes a second looking at the sleeping baby next to them, between Piper and the headboard "I mean, what did you feel when you discovered you were pregnant?"

Piper stares at the girl that was still playing with her hair "I don't think 'scared' is the right word to describe what I felt... It was more like I was hit in the face with a brick and knocked out? I felt... nauseated. Not puke nauseated but I couldn't situate myself." she looks at the baby with a serious expression and then back at the sitting girl "I guess I didn't know what to expect? Of course I did know what was coming but actually facing the reality that it's really happening to you is a completely different story" she closes her eyes "By the time I finally got the courage to tell my ex boyfriend about the pregnancy test, I was starting to get excited about it... I thought maybe a baby could make our bond stronger?", she makes air quotes with her hands 'this new life we created together'... she rolls her eyes and laughs at her own choice of words "So I bought this cute and tiny bodysuit that said something along the lines of 'daddy's favorite'... and gave it to him in a gift wrapped box that I put together with the test stick... Honestly, looking back, I don't know what I was thinking" she opens her eyes again and stares back at Alex, who left her glasses on the nightstand beside her, but still managed to stare back deep into the blue eyes "He just... He asked why I would do that to him, or why I was trying to set him up and that I was using him and his money... That fucking stupid, that idiot, that asshole... He can never keep a job and he still claims I'm trying to profit off him! And doing that by having a fucking baby!" she starts to get a little carried away with the tone of her voice, but lowers it when she notices the baby starting to move and threatening to wake up.

Alex bites her lip to hold back from manifesting any anger at what she just heard, especially because this is probably what her own mom went through with the father she'd never met. She caresses Piper's cheek, encouraging her to keep talking.

"And then everything just... fell apart, you know? For a moment I created this idea in my mind that it could work out and he would be a loving father and maybe someday even propose to me? God, I was so naive". Piper's eyes become watery at the memories that were now coming back.

Alex adjusts herself to help Piper get more comfortable "And then what happened?"

Piper motions she'll start talking but stops midway to let out a loud sniff, closing her eyes as the sinus pain starts to aggravate on her face, probably due to the tears she's been holding back.

"And then... he kicked me out. Just like that. We had just moved in together by then but the lease was on his name. He wouldn't pick up my calls or answer the door, not even when I tried to go to his mother's house... then I finally realized that was it; Whatever I decided to do with the pregnancy, I would have to deal with it on my own"

Alex starts to think about what Piper meant by that last statement. As hard as she tried, she couldn't help but go back to thinking her own mother probably felt the same way.

"Well, good news is you're not alone anymore" she grabs Piper's hand and squeezes it; "You've got a whole new group of people that will be there for you when you need them. And you get endless cuddles from this chubby one" she points to the sleeping baby next to them.

Noemi had fallen asleep against Alex's chest, but after waking up from the coughing fit Piper had gotten up to pee, since she never got to do it after Alex arrived. Apparently Noemi also needed a diaper change, and Piper didn't dare ask Alex to do it. It was very clear Alex had no experience with babies - how she didn't drop Noemi from her arms neither of them knew - so the blonde took matters into her own hands. She placed her back on the bed where she fell back asleep after fiddling with the toy giraffe from the night she and Alex hooked up on that same bed.

Piper remembered Alex had told her she was going to South House when she first arrived - stopping at her place to give her the meds was an act of kindness, but the blonde wasn't sure if the girl was comfortable enough to stay much longer.

Alex had really meant to go to the bar by the time she left her place. It was a weekly tradition and one of Alex's favorites, especially since she only had Tuesdays off - which meant she could drink as much as she wanted, sleep the day away and get up in time to go out at night again, wether it be for a dinner date or trivia night with her mom at a different spot.

No one had even fallen asleep with Alex like Noemi had, though.

Sure, she's slept next to people before, but the amount of trust she'd been given, or even the softness of the baby's hands and cheek on her skin, her fast ragged breaths and heartbeat, it felt like discovering a whole new type of human proximity.

Truth be told, she's never had close contact with tiny humans before, due to the lack of siblings, cousins or even friends that had babies(most of her friends were single lesbians who just loved to hook up with strangers, anyway).

Piper seems oblivious to the numerous thoughts racing through Alex's mind and turns on her side, face now buried in the girl's lap, sniffing her nose.

Alex can't tell if she's crying or not, but chooses to just stay there, respecting her silence and fumbling with her blonde hair.

A few minutes later, Piper finally breaks the silence and turns to lift her head up a little "I didn't give her his last name. He didn't even register her. My daughter has a blank space where her father's name should be in her birth certificate." she takes a deep breath, like a huge weight has been taken off her shoulders for saying it out loud. This was the first time she was telling someone all that she'd gone through, with details to say the least "And then I found out it is not acceptable for me, you know, it's not up to the Chapman family standards. So of course I was in the wrong and left with no support. And then one day my parents ran into my ex at a fucking grocery store and he approached them, telling my family that I was forbidding him from having contact with the baby. When he never even _tried_ to!"

"How did your family take it?"

Piper sighs. "They've never even met her. I got a card from my dad the day after she was born that said 'congrats on the baby!!'. But I'm sure it was his secretary that sent it, probably out of her own will... Can you believe he didn't even bother finding out the gender?!"

Alex tries to play it off to break the tension and shrugs dismissively "For all we know she could someday tell you that she identifies as a boy"

"Maybe" Piper thinks about it for a second and bursts into laughter "Can you imagine what my parents would say if she did that?! I think they would make me change my last name and tell people I moved to Africa for charity work!"

Alex laughs along and then focuses her attention directly at Piper's smile. It was a rare sight - and one she just discovered to find adorable.

Piper catches Alex staring at her and notices how she had unconsciously licked her lips while looking at hers.

All of a sudden, the previous thoughts vanish from her mind and all Piper can think about is kissing Alex.

——-

**_don't know about you guys but i can hear joey from friends screaming "KISS HER, YOU FOOL!!"_**

**_but seriously, every time i get a notification with a review my heart bursts with joy. you guys are incredible, i mean it. i really appreciate you taking the time not only to read the bullshit i come up with but to also make comments and tell me what you enjoyed or how you think things will develop. _**


	13. understaffed my ass

Piper grabs Alex's face with both hands, pulling her down slowly and locking their lips together. It's not what you would call a real kiss - their lips are simply pressed together, not moving, and it seems to speak through the silence; this is Piper's way of thanking Alex for the kindness of stopping by to bring her medicine, but even more so for talking to her and for staying. Or so Alex convinces herself.

When they finally pull away, Alex lowers her head again, this time to kiss Piper's forehead, who closes her eyes at the touch.

"Get some rest, kid"

———

The rise of a new day and the pills taken the previous night seem to have had an effect when Piper wakes up feeling much better. She had been awoken by Noemi's little fussing, and her eyes quickly shot open as she remembered that Alex had been there, in her bed, the night before.

She takes sight of the girl that's surprisingly still there and also still asleep: Alex is on her side, using one arm under her head to support it and her breathing is slow and controlled, much different to how Piper's became when her heart skipped a beat at the sight in front of her.

She tries to get up and jump over the brunette in order to get out of bed.

Noemi is too young and still can't sit by herself which makes it a bit harder to pick her. As Piper stretches over Alex, her stomach touches the girl's arm and wakes her up.

"Shit, shit, sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you"

Alex rubs her eyes before she fully opens them and looks from the girl on top of her to the baby laying down next to them. She realizes that Piper is trying to pick her up and lets her do so, before pressing her own palms against the bed and lifting herself up to sit. She presses her back against the headboard, albeit embarrassed to have fallen asleep there. "Hey. Good morning"

"I'm so sorry for waking you up, I wanted to pick her up before she started crying"

Alex yawns and ignores the girl's worries, asking with genuine concern "How do you feel today?"

"So much better" she takes breaths between each word to emphasize them "Yesterday I thought I was dying, today I feel like there's a small chance I'll survive"

Noemi places her head against her mother's chest, making herself comfortable, nested against it as she sucks on her thumb.

Alex watches.

"I guess I better get going" she searches the nightstand for her glasses that sat by a roll of toilet paper Piper had been using as tissues, and puts them on. "I didn't mean to fall asleep"

"Alex, wait" Piper bites her lip "Can I at least make you some coffee first? As a 'thank you'?"

The brunette shrugs with a small smile "I never say no to a cup of coffee" she says as she fixes her hair, throwing it to the side, and proceeds to stand up.

—-

The three of them are in the kitchen, Noemi expertly placed on Piper's hip for support as the blonde handles the small french press and pours each of them half a mug.

"Can this be my turn to ask you something?"

Alex smiles as she takes the good smelling beverage. Nothing like hot black coffee in the morning "Yeah"

"Was it really that scary?"

Alex lifts a questioning eyebrow, not really getting what exactly the blonde was talking about.

Piper looks around for some sugar, avoiding looking into the girl's eyes so she can gather the necessary courage to continue speaking. "That first night you came over... was it really that scary for you?"

Alex sighs at the memory "I won't make excuses, okay? I didn't know what to do and I guess I... panicked. I'm not proud of what I did. I just... didn't know how to handle that information? I mean come on, Piper. We were both super drunk and I thought I was only going to drop you off at home and go home myself. I definitely wasn't expecting you to make a move on me." she takes a sip of the hot beverage "I'm not proud of how I handled things... but I really am sorry, Pipes. That was a shitty move on my part"

It was Alex's first time calling her by a nickname. It felt comforting and natural.

"I wasn't expecting you to find out about her... at all" Piper says, holding the cup in front of her mouth, almost covering it.

Alex chuckles at the obviously impossible and somewhat ridicule plan. "You thought you'd be able to hide a baby forever?" she looks fondly at the little girl then laughs as she redirects her attention back to Piper "Were you planning on keeping her in a cage or perhaps something more intricate like a dungeon...?"

"You're an asshole" Piper smiles wide, her teeth showing "I guess sometimes we just don't know what's going to happen next, do we?"

"No... no, we don't"

——

They all approach the door together, Noemi now in Alex's arms, one of her little hands placed on her forearm, holding onto the woman's skin. Alex appears to be more confident with carrying the girl, no longer scared to drop or injure her.

As Piper puts her hands under the little armpits to bring her back into her own arms, the baby protests, curling her fingers tighter into Alex's skin, trying to hold on to the girl as she starts to verbally protest in intelligible grunting. They both laugh at it and Alex mumbles something into the baby's ear that Piper can't quite comprehend, and tickles the baby so she'll become distracted. Soon as she starts to giggle and loosen up, Piper takes the cue and brings her into her own arms.

"Thank you for coming and staying the night. I hope it wasn't that bad of a sleep considering the position you were in"

Alex shrugs it off with a smug smirk "I'm flexible enough to adjust into many different positions"

Realizing she caught Piper off guard by how much she was blushing, Alex kisses her cheek then the top of Noemi's head, walking herself out after saying a quick goodbye.

Closing the door behind Alex, both mom and daughter go back inside the bedroom, where she places the baby on the bed and hands her a noisy toy to entertain her with. Her favorite kind of toy - the ones that play songs. If Piper keeps it going, she will be quiet for hours. Is this what people did before cellphones and youtube?

She pops a couple more pills so her health can continue to improve. She's feeling better, yes, but not well enough yet. Alex had given her a couple sick days off to rest some more, for which she was thankful, even if concerned about how it would affect her earnings.

The brown paper bag that held the pills Alex had bought over was still scrunched up on the nightstand and Piper stretches it so she can read "we are going to be under staffed without you. get well soon. -a".

She already knows how to recognize Alex's handwriting and smiles at what's written, even if it's just a tiny note. She's slowly getting to know a different side of Alex, one she'll bet most people can't even fathom the possibility of existing. The thing is, as hard as Alex might try to act and how tough she makes herself out to be, Piper already knows that deep inside that is just an image she enjoys portraying. And she knows there's more to the little note than just 'being short on staff'. She can read between the lines. And she feels the same. She wants to be around Alex more often, too.

Just as she starts to get lost in her thoughts, she hears an already familiar sound and lifts Noemi up to smell her diaper.

"Oh, come on Noemi. That's a horrible smelling poop"

———

_so terribly sorry for how long this took. appreciate your patience for the updates and the slooooow build up. we're getting there - like **reeeeeally** there with the next chapter._

_for the guest that left numerous comments in all my stories and said they'd be giving up on me for the lack of updates, i am terribly sorry. and i really enjoyed reading each and every one of your reviews. _


	14. a not so holy but very jolly christmas

_this story's rating has been changed to M for its continuation chapter and might also have indicators of might be somewhat abusive behavior to some people. i would like to make it clear that i would never write anything of that nature, so do not be scared to continue reading if you feel a character might sound threatening to someone's integrity. they will **not** be._

————

Going back to work is a task people don't usually enjoy doing but for Piper it feels like a mix of both freedom and empowerment.

Despite having some moody costumers every now and then, she genuinely enjoys the company of her work mates and clients. It is a big variety of people and everyone has a good time hanging out and even making fun of clients or themselves. Most of her co workers are funny, easy going people and she doesn't have any complaints about being around actual adults she can hold a conversation with. Up until now she'd been having one sided conversations with a baby that can't really speak yet, and it was easy for her to feel lonely and seek older human connections.

Noemi seemed to be getting healthy again which meant Rafa was back on babysitting duty and the blonde could take up on as many shifts as her body would allow her to. The little girl had spent the past few days being extremely grumpy and clingy, but it was understandable - if Piper, at 26 years of age, still wanted to be taken care of, how could she blame a baby that recently turned 5 months old for wanting attention and extra cuddles?

Despite knowing Alex won't be there when she first goes back, Piper's eyes often wander around the floor in hopes of catching a glimpse of her.

This was her usual lunch shift so she wasn't too worried about having to rush. It was a big change from the night craziness.

When she first started out, every time she took up on a night shift it scared the shit out of her - it happens less now that she's becoming more confident with her abilities and knows the menu better, capable of explaining questions the costumers have, such as what exactly goes in a salad or how some of the sauces are made; she has even started making suggestions on dishes that people really seem to enjoy.

Arriving around 11:45, 15 minutes earlier than her clock in, Piper is greeted by a bulky/chubby blonde-ish guy dressed as a chef that she had never met before.

He has a black hat on, black pants with pepper shaped prints and a beard(albeit trimmed), which is odd considering none of the cooks were allowed to have facial hair(for hygiene reasons).

He introduces himself as Marco and when the girl is about to say her name back, he takes her hand and places a kiss on top of it. "You're Piper"

By his accent it's easy to tell that he's italian, and with his loud speech and the fact he's not giving her room to actually talk, Piper is quickly thrown off by that first impression(and probably by the fact that her ex boyfriend's family is Italian).

Ironically enough, Zucchini is chopping zucchini's on the station next to them. She overhears the conversation and rolls her eyes at the interaction and his obvious attempt at flirting, but her interest picks up when she remembers her suspicions about the girl and decides to keep an eye on them, wondering if Piper will correspond in any way.

By three o'clock the last table leaves and everyone's bored but not allowed to clock out yet, so they all gather around the kitchen to talk and grab something loose to eat. Delivering food has the tendency of making you hungry, especially if it's done at actual lunch or dinner time. Your body craves the calories at specific times, it's how metabolism works. Even if you eat before going into work, you'll still feel tempted to grab a little something during the shift.

Zucchini approaches Piper with a piece of swiss cheese that she hands the girl "Hey girl. You've been gone for a while. Do you feel better now?"

"So much better" she takes the slice of cheese and bites on it "I don't think I've eaten in like two days though" she takes the last bite "Who's that?" she asks, gesturing to the new chef with her head

Zucchini sighs "Marco? He's friends or related to the owner, something like that" she shrugs dismissively "Which is probably the only reason why he hasn't been fired yet"

"Is he that bad?"

"As a chef? No. As a human being? Absolutely"

"Great"

"I'm sure Alex will have your back if he tries anything though" she elbow nudges her

"I'm sorry?"

She gives Piper a snarky smile and winks at her before walking to the prep station, leaving it up in the air.

As Piper starts to gather her stuff in the changing room and walks out through the kitchen, her attention is on her phone where she's trying to come up with something to text Alex about, wanting to make conversation.

"Oi, bella!!" Marco walks up in front of her, blocking the passage "Leaving without saying goodbye? Where your manners?" he says with an accusative tone that Piper doesn't really know how to react to

"I-" she tries to speak but is cut off by the guy lifting both hands up defensively

"Joking, I'm joking!" he comes a little too close to her liking and it seems like he's trying to go for a hug, so she instinctively takes a step back "What? You scared of me? I don't bite"

Piper is speechless for a second and, if until then, she didn't feel somewhat intimidated, she does now.

———

"No way. No fucking way. We're not putting Christmas decorations up"

"Yes, we are. I'm your boss and I'm saying I want them up by tomorrow"

It's useless to argue so she puts the phone down.

Alex has tried to impose her point of view for numerous occasions when it comes to choices regarding the restaurant for about a year now - ever since she took up on the offer to be the manager of Carnes Y Tragos - but all her efforts have gone to waste.

She's the one that takes care of everything that happens there since the day she first got the keys to the restaurant so she could open and close the doors - but despite having complete control over the everyday operations, when it comes down to making smart decisions about who to hire or fire, which changes to make on the menu or even what kind of decorations should remain up or be taken down, she's never in charge.

The restaurant owner is a loop minded Australian who came up with the ideas for the crazy decorations and sayings that were plastered

all over the walls, but when it came to knowing her staff or taking actual care of business, she is completely clueless and doesn't seem to care about any opinions other than her own.

——-

**A- On a scale of zero to ten, how busy are you right now?**

Piper has just finished doing the dishes that had piled up during the past week and was grabbing the uniform she wore to work that she hadn't washed yet despite returning to her routine yesterday(and boy was she desperate to get rid of the smell of grease), when she reads the newly received text on her phone. She's supposed to work the night shift tonight, which she'd been looking forward to, but that was only in a few hours. However, with the content of the text, the last thing on her mind now was doing laundry.

**P- What's on your mind?**

**A- If I tell you, you'll turn me down. So is that a 'yes'?**

She smiles at the screen and types out a quick 'yes'.

**A- Meet me at Target? I'm on my way now**

"Noemi, we're going out" she says as she picks the smiling toddler up and starts to head out the door, before coming right back as soon as she realizes they need actual clothing if they're going out at 13 degrees Fahrenheit.

——-

"You bought a plus one"

"I thought I was supposed to be your plus one"

Alex smirks and cocks her head at the quick come back "Fair enough" before reaching closer and giving Piper a one armed hug and scratching Noemi's beanie, causing her to let out a small laugh.

"I didn't really have a big time gap to find someone to watch her"

Alex shrugs as to say she doesn't mind, as Noemi suddenly reaches out and touches her face, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.

Piper breaks the silence "So why are we here?"

"You, and you" she pokes the baby's stomach "are going to help me not want to shoot myself in the face while I shop for fucking Christmas decorations"

"Hey!" she tries once again to cover one of the baby's ears "Language!"

"Piper, come on. It's not like she can tell which words are bad or not"

"Alex"

"Fine. Shall we go in?"

They somehow find a cart and try to sit Noemi on it. She's getting so much better at sitting by herself now, and seems to enjoy being carried by wheels for a change(unusual for her, seeing as they didn't have a stroller)

Despite the restaurant's decoration being mostly tacky and poorly made, the girls decide on adding only minimal and classy decorations that wouldn't stand out too much. Piper agrees they don't need any more junk plastered all over the already crowded walls and they only buy some details that won't take up too much attention.

They spot mistletoes at the same time and exchange looks. Neither can decipher wether they're thinking the same thing, but then the brunette picks one up and holds it over Noemi's head. They lean in at the same time, kissing both of her cheeks, causing her to squeak in delight, waving both of her tiny arms around.

"What should we get her?"

"What do you mean?" Piper continues to carry the cart through the isles, moving away from the Christmas decorations and heading to the payment counter "I wasn't thinking about buying her anything. Thought I'd wait until she actually starts asking for things... which are probably going to be expensive things"

"She needs a present" Alex picks the baby up and starts talking to her "What do you want, kid?"

"Are you expecting her to actually answer?"

The brunette rolls her eyes at the blonde and starts walking towards the children's toys section "What do babies your age like?"

"Pooping and crying, I guess"

"Oh I'm sorry kid, do you hear anything? Just your mom being bitchy? I thought so. What about this?" she lifts up a teddy bear "Too corny? I think so, too. You're not a regular kid, you look like you have good taste"

"Alex, I didn't bring money"

"Who said anything about money?" she finally redirects her attention back to the girl "Neither of us are paying for it. We'll just mix it in with the restaurant stuff"

"Alex, that's stealing!"

A random costumer looks at them, petrified at the tone and content of what the girl had just said out loud.

"Are you trying to get us into trouble?!" she glares at Piper, her eyes wide open in what seemed like frustration "Whatever it is that we get is going to be paid for. Just... by my shitty boss. Our shitty boss"

"I thought you were my boss"

"Then, as your boss, I'm telling you: the company will pay for it" she starts roaming down the shelves, trying to find something interesting. As she notices Piper's hesitation and the fact that she's no longer by their side, but a few steps behind, Alex turns to look at her "Don't just stand there. Who better than you at finding something she needs?"

"I'm not sure about this. It still feels like stealing"

Alex sighs and rolls her eyes, continuing to scan the isles, Noemi happily placed on her arm, one of her tiny hands placed on her chest like it belongs there.

——-

They agree on buying a somewhat educational toy that had a Christmas thematic and wouldn't stand out on the receipt. A toy like this didn't make much sense considering people only use Christmassy stuff for no more than two months a year(and that's a long stretch) - but it's about fitting wooden shaped pieces into a gingerbread house and Piper had given in when she read the prints on the box and noticed none of the parts were made of plastic - it reminded her of old times when she actually cared about the environment and trash waste.

Noticing they had little time left before work, they opt for an Uber and drop Piper and Noemi off at their apartment so they can have enough time for Rafa to come over and babysit and for the blonde to get ready for work. The car's trunk was somehow full and it surprised them how bulky Christmas items are, considering how minimal they had initially decided to go for.

By the time both younger girls get off the car, Alex rolls the window down to say goodbye.

The brunette says "bye bye" and waves at the baby, who sloppily tries to wave back, causing both women to stare at her reaction in a bit of a shock

"She's never done that before! Did you teach her that?"

Alex chuckles and shakes her head negatively "I think she learned from association"

"How?"

Alex shrugs "She's just growing up, I guess. Probably paying attention to more than you know. I'll see you at work, Pipes"

She taps the driver's seat who gets the message and drives off.

———

The amount of people that decided to go to the restaurant for company celebrations and functions that night was completely unexpected.

It all started when, at the beginning of the night, the phone rang in the office from someone asking for a table for 13. From then on, it all went downhill. Dozens of people started gathering outside the door, waiting for a table, and the new hostess had ran out of excuses to give clients when they asked how long it would take for a new table to free up. It's a stupid question she was quickly getting tired of - she wanted to ask them "how long do you plan on staying? Well, if you don't know, how can I tell how long the people in front of you are going to be?!", but she was doing her best not to be too rude.

Some of the orders were being returned to the kitchen - meat that should be well done was medium at best, waiters were forgetting to add sides to the orders, salads being sold with missing items - it was complete caos by now.

Piper's section wasn't doing that bad - the big 13 people table ended up being hers and they were a group of rich indian tourists that were so entertained amongst themselves that they didn't really require a lot of attention - the other couple of tables had easy going clients, as well.

She tried to make herself useful by helping run other people's food and especially the bar - which, by then, had so many orders that she could see the sweat coming down Nicky's face and how mad she was starting to get at the impatient waiters rushed her for their drinks. They were going as fast as they could, but it was clearly not fast enough to keep up with the increasing demand.

By the time she goes back to her big table, they are ready to order drinks, and they're not being shy: 3 bombay gin and tonics- one with cucumber and the other two with lime; a glass of red wine and a glass of white; a bottle of a different wine with two glasses; a passionfruit mojito; ginger beer; two pink lemonades; a manhattan; a negroni; one pale ale on tap and a coors light. By the time she actually manages to write everything down, she knows the bartenders are going to want to kill her. She puts the order through and calls mains away on another table, hoping for the best.

—

As expected, Alex had to go inside the bar to help the two bartenders who were deep down the weeds.

Meanwhile, Piper had taken the task to warn the kitchen that someone had forgotten to add a side of chips to their order. She's reluctant to talk to the chefs when they're clearly in distress and the mistake wasn't even hers, but does it anyway or else it'll only get worse.

Marco yells at her for asking them to rush with the chips and won't even allow her to speak about whose table that was - but Zucchini tries to rescue her by reassuring she'll get them done as soon as possible because she was the one working that station. Piper thanks her and runs off to get her big table's order.

There are a few POS machines around the restaurant and she heads to the one next to the bar - when she's almost finished putting all the entrees and the 13 mains on the system, only two dishes left to add, she hears Alex calling out to her.

Turning her attention back to the brunette, her finger still up on the screen, Piper presses the wrong button for the meat she wanted and doesn't even notice the mistake as she's now focused on the pool of blood forming on the counter.

"When you're done with that I'm gonna need your help here"

"Alex, you're bleeding! You're bleeding a lot!"

The blonde starts heading towards her but Alex calls her out: "Finish putting your order through first"

She finishes suspending the order in a rush and by then Alex is already walking out the bar, a towel in hand. It had been a white cloth once but by now was completely covered in blood.

Piper rushes to her and holds her bruised hand, pressing on it to stop the bleeding but she doesn't even know where it was cut

"How are your tables? I just need your help to put a bandage on"

"Fuck my tables, Alex you're gonna have to go to the hospital"

"I'm fine, Piper. I just can't touch food if I'm bleeding. Are you sure your tables are ok so you can help?"

"Yes, I'm sure"

They walk through the kitchen on the way to the office. Marco notices both of them together and yells out at Piper for the chips she had called for, but the blonde doesn't even notice him or hear anything. She's too concerned about the situation at hand.

Alex points at the first aid kit and Piper reaches up above the cabinets to grab it, proceeding to remove the blood stained cloth from her hand.

There were two bigger cuts and a minor one, and they looked like they reached a small vein or something because, despite not being very deep, they were bleeding really bad.

She takes a solution and uses a piece of gauze to clean it up, concern plastered on her face "Am I hurting you?"

"No, I'm fine" Alex's face is calm "I just can't bandage it on my own"

"You're not fine" the blonde flinches as she cleans off the blood and takes a good look into one of the cuts "You need stitches"

"What I need is for this night to be over" she takes the dirty gauze from the girl's hands and throws it into the garbage can as the blonde places a new one on the bruise "Or else I'll kill at least 5 staff members"

Piper smiles at her "I can give you some suggestions on who to start with"

Alex smiles back at the blonde who's now wrapping bandage around her hand.

——

After putting a plastic glove on so she go back inside the bar and continue to help, Alex is back into machine mode.

She is faster than the two other bartenders combined, but also way more organized; While Nicky is also really good at her job, she can't get herself around to put the bottles back on the shelves after using them or doing any sort of organization while it's super busy. She is good, but way too messy and that makes service slow down as she can't find herself amongst the dozens of things scattered around.

Piper had a new table that already arrived making complaints about how long it took them to be able to sit and saying how she should give them something complementary for waiting so long. She tries to explain that it doesn't work like that and she can't get anything without a manager's authorization and how the manager was very busy right now and couldn't come to their table: she would just tell them the exact same thing so it would be a waste of time trying to get her now, but they were insistent and rude.

She approaches Alex and tries to explain the situation with her table, but she's too busy and asks her to stall them for a few minutes until she can go over to their table.

Cara, a blonde and slim waitress that was usually very friendly to their costumers goes back to the kitchen carrying a rib on the bone dish, still untouched.

"Hey Piper, table 22 is saying they didn't order this"

"Didn't order what?" Piper asks as she tries to take a closer look at what's in the plate the girl is carrying "Yeah, that's right, they didn't order that" she pulls out the docket where she wrote the correct order down, but takes the ticket order from the kitchen that the girl was holding to read it. As she compares it, she realizes they had ordered the eye fillet, not the rib on the bone. She must've pressed the wrong button when putting the order through, since they were side by side on the POS machine.

She tries to explain her mistake to the chefs but they get really mad at her - they were way too busy to deal with order mistakes and cooking an entire new dish, above all medium well, would take up a lot of time and space on the grill, making them get even further behind on tickets.

"See blondie, if you weren't too consumed by that lesbian manager of yours, you wouldn't fuck up"

"Excuse me?!" she can't believe what she just heard Marco tell her

"That's right, you have to be careful with that one, she's dangerous"

Piper shakes her head in disbelief, her face turning red from the anger that was consuming her from hearing such bullshit.

"Piper" Zucchini calls out when she sees her friend getting worked up and ready to explode "Tell them it will be ready in like 10 minutes, I'll put some weight on the meat to cook it faster"

"No, no, no" Marco interrupts them "Is my station, I decide how long is gonna take" he says with his strong accent

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Piper walks closer to him, huffing in anger. Not only did the entire rest of the table already have their orders but one costumer, he wanted to make them wait even longer?!

"Hey, hey, hey" Alex walks into the loud kitchen when she overhears both of them speaking loud enough that they were now shouting at each other "That's enough!" she slams her good hand on the iron counter, her ring making a loud noise against it "You go outside, and you start cooking NOW!" she speaks to Piper and Marco, respectively "I SAID NOW!"

——

As the night finally dies down and the costumers start to leave, the kitchen staff is now washing the grill, ovens and the floor.

Alex has gone inside the office to start doing the night accountability when Piper storms in without knocking and closes the door behind her.

"What's going on?" Alex asks, scared that she's going to get even more bad news or hear about another costumer complaint. Gosh, was she done for the night.

"Shut up" the blonde turns the lock around and turns the doorknob, making sure it was locked.

Alex lifts up a questioning eyebrow, not understanding what's going on and thinking the girl had another discussion with the chef, but before she can even open her mouth to ask, Piper is kissing her so fiercely and biting her bottom lip so hard that the only thing Alex can do is let out a moan.

She grabs Alex's hair and pulls it, making her react as she stands up, their lips never leaving each other when the blonde starts to undo the button on the black pair of pants the manager is wearing and unzips it.

"Pip-"

"Alex" she presses their foreheads together and traces her finger underneath the underwear, trying to feel if the girl is wet enough "Unless you have something against it, I'm going to fuck you right now"

—-

**phew. finally.**

**merry(slightly late) christmas, my loves.**


	15. we’re not done yet

"Ok"

That's the only word that she's able to pronounce after having such a rollercoaster kind of day.

Piper invading her office like that was definitely not how Alex was expecting the day to end, but it was by far way more pleasant than anything she could've imagined.

Despite being completely out of the mood and not thinking about sex after such a shitty shift, the second the words "I'm going to fuck you right now" escape from the blonde's lips, she melts. She's seen this side of the girl before, the very first night they shared any kind of intimacy, and to this day still regretted not continuing their business and seeing what Piper's dominance could take her.

Not anymore.

She grabs the sides of Piper's body, tugging into her hips fiercely as she opens her legs further apart to facilitate the hands that were fumbling beneath her pants.

As Piper tugs on the black fabric in hopes of taking it off, the only thing on Alex's mind is how much she wants to feel Piper on her, especially inside her. She can feel herself getting wetter by the second.

No longer feeling any pain from the cuts in her hand, she removes it from the girl's body to help pull her own pants down to her knees, where Piper expertly puts the sole of her feet, dragging them all the way down to the floor while using both hands to touch Alex - one of them tracing her fingers on her slit and spreading the wetness that was quickly forming up around her and the other pressing on her ass so hard they both knew would leave a mark.

As her breathing becomes louder and she tries hard to suppress her moans, her body thrusts into Piper's hand for more contact, who's now tracing her clit hard and around.

Alex throws her head back in delight and the blonde takes the body curvature into her advantage as she pushes two fingers inside her, causing both of them to moan at the sensation. Fuck, they've wanted to do this for so long.

She pumps her fingers inside the girl, moving them around and curling and massaging inside her, taking care of every inch of soft skin and trying to reach as many sensitive spots as she can.

When she feels Alex's legs start to shake involuntarily, she knows it won't be long until she cums, so she pulls her fingers out, causing the girl to protest at the loss of contact, but before she can say anything, Piper uses her own body to lead Alex against the table, where she places both palms for support.

Piper kneels down and spreads both of her legs apart, taking her mouth into Alex's pussy. She licks it over, taking her taste in and sucking off some of her wetness so she can have more friction against her clit. Not sparing any skills, her face buried against her pussy, she sucks and licks Alex all over until she can feel her coming close again.

By now, Piper's nose and chin are completely wet and the closeness with Alex's skin makes it hard to even catch a breath in between mouth ministrations, but she's on a mission to make her cum and won't stop until she does, trying to breath through her mouth so she doesn't waste time.

Alex lifts up one of her legs as she thrusts into Piper's face for more contact; the other supporting leg is already shaking uncontrollably as an orgasm starts to take over her body. Piper steadies her with her free hand, the other continuing to fuck her hard all the while not giving her clit a second of rest from her tongue.

Alex tries to say something but can't come up with a proper sentence, the only sounds coming from her mouth being moans and a few eventual 'fuck'.

She keeps one hand against the table but uses the other to grab the blonde hair and push Piper's face further against her as the heat wave invades her body and she can feel herself letting go.

Piper takes the chance to take a deep breath as Alex's body shakes, but only does so because she's not done yet. She removes her fingers from inside her and traces some circles around her swollen clit, and before Alex can even ride out the entire orgasm, she's already thrusting her tongue inside her.

Feeling the hot muscle move inside her entrance sends Alex into another dimension and she spreads her legs further apart, placing one of them on Piper's knee, opening herself up to grant more access. Piper's tongue goes in and out of her, fucking her as deep as she can, her own clit pulsating from the feeling of Alex's hot cum spreading on her face as a second orgasm takes over her.

"We're not done yet"


	16. well that is fun to watch

_so good to know i got you guys all hot and bothered. shall we continue?_

———

Alex is panting, trying to get her breathing back to normal as her brain still hasn't really gotten a hold of what is going on.

It took Piper less than what? Five minutes to fuck her senseless and into oblivion.

If you look back at Alex's sexual history, you'll know this is the complete opposite from what usually happens with her; she's the dominant one, the one that's on top most of the time and who decides how far things will go until her partner reaches an orgasm; she's good at reading people, understanding their body language and using it as an advantage for her own pleasure. Being in control makes her feel powerful and sexy; gives her stamina.

But Piper...

Fucking Piper.

And she didn't even fuck Piper.

No, she was fucked by Piper.

Really fucked.

The girl knew what she was doing.

This was no beginners luck or whatever other option it could be.

No.

She's done it before, Alex can tell.

But god, she wants her to do it again.

And again.

Better yet, she wants to return the favor.

Alex bites Piper's bottom lip and doesn't let go of it for a few seconds, until both sets of eyes open and focus on each other and what is going on between them.

Their lips quickly form into content smiles as she finally loosens up the bite.

They're silent, but the intimacy is there and says it all. There's no need for words. Whatever it is this tiny moment of eye contact was, it wasn't just about sex or greed.

But...

"We're not done yet"

As soon as her breathing returns to human like standards, she grabs Piper's face, bringing her to the same height, so their eyes are staring deep into each other.

Piper can vaguely remember seeing this emotion in Alex's green eyes, given her inebriated status when she first went to her house, but she can tell the fierceness behind them. The lust.

Alex wants her.

And so they kiss.

Sober.

And for the first time, they're so connected that they can truly taste it.

They kiss as if their lips were made for each other, matching and with their tongues entangling so perfectly that it seemed like no other pair of lips could ever fit a mold better than the combination between theirs.

They kiss so hard that Piper can't even tell when Alex's hands undo the black apron around her waist, but the second those same hands reach the skin under the black t-shirt, shivers go down her spine, making each and every piece of hair on her body go up from excitement.

Endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin.

Their bodies producing so many hormones that they could explode right then and there, and they wouldn't care.

She removes Piper's t-shirt and opens her bra expertly with one hand, the other working the button of her pants. The blonde massages the luscious breasts that hid behind Alex's shirt that hadn't been taken off. As soon as the navy blue bra's hook is undone, they move away from each other long enough for it to be removed and thrown across the small room.

Alex doesn't waste time regaining contact as she moves her mouth directly into one of the girl's hardened nipples, her non injured hand massaging the inside of her thighs on top of the pants fabric teasingly, until she reaches her center. She massages it and, despite having two layers between their skin, Piper is already being sent overdrive.

Reaching underneath the pants, Alex runs her fingers on top of her underwear fabric and pulls it up, causing huge friction between the fabric and the blonde's clitoris. She keeps messing with the fabric and using it to rub against her skin, but Piper's so wet that it seeps through the cotton, lubricating Alex's fingers.

As the wetness reaches her, Alex gives up on teasing the girl.

Using her bad hand, she clears everything out of the table, throwing it carelessly on the floor and placing Piper's back on the wooden surface. She removes Piper's clothes so quickly that it's possible they've been ripped apart but don't bother checking as she's quickly opening the girl's legs and placing herself between them so she can start eating her out.

Alex quickly learns Piper is extremely loud and considers covering her mouth with one hand, but she wants to hear those sounds. She wants to hear Piper moaning, calling out her name, begging her to fuck her. Instead of covering her mouth, she places one of her own fingers that were covered in Piper's juices into the blonde's mouth, allowing her to suck her own taste while Alex herself starts working her tongue between her folds.

And fuck, she tastes so good.

Seeing Piper taste herself while Alex can taste the same thing as she flicks her tongue on the girl's clit is a sight to be remembered.

Her glasses have fallen somewhere but the image of the girl lying on the table with both legs spread open for her is a clear sight to be seen and Alex fights her body's impulses to close her eyes in delight because she doesn't want to take them off Piper.

She continues to work her tongue all along the girl's pussy, now using both hands to massage her exposed breasts.

Piper moans loudly and Alex can't help but reciprocate the sounds; the hot air coming out of her mouth reaching Piper's pussy and causing her to tremble at the sensation and Alex picks up speed and sucks on both of her outer lips.

She lowers her hands to the girl's hips so she can drag her further down the table as she kneels down, burying her face deeper inside her.

Piper's hips quickly buckle up, asking Alex for more and faster contact as she cries out her name, perhaps too loudly.

Alex uses one of her hands to reach up and cover up the girl's mouth as she uses the other to begin rubbing her fingers hard against her clit. She traces it up and down, alternating between one finger giving the button a firmer and harder rub and then using two or three to alternate speeds and spread her juices around so the pressure won't be too much.

Piper can't help but bite Alex's hand as the girl gives her pussy a few light slaps.

She's never had someone slap her clit before but fuck, it felt way too good and she can't stop herself from cumming from the pleasure mixed with a hint of pain.

"Fuck, Alex" she cries out, biting her own lip "Don't stop"

Alex appreciates the fact that cumming once is not enough for Piper, because she's definitely not ready to stop.

She pulls the girl closer to her, placing both of her thighs on her shoulders so she's basically sitting on her face now.

Mimicking Piper's actions, she starts to tongue fuck her as the blonde moves her hips, riding Alex's tongue and face.

Piper is too lost in pleasure to hear the insistent knocking on the door, but when she finally opens her eyes, she sees a set of brown eyes watching them from the tiny glass on the door that they had completely forgotten about.

"Well, well, well"


	17. i’ve always loved caffeine

_alright, alright. i'm sorry for how long this took. i hope you're still here._

———

Scared by the sight in front of her, Piper screams and covers her bare chest with both arms and shuts her legs, trapping Alex's head between her thighs, who has no idea what's going on.

Using both hands to try and open the girl's legs and set herself free, she looks up and realizes Piper is covering herself, so she lifts herself up trying to act as a shield to cover Piper's body.

The blonde points at the door while still trying to cover both breasts with one arm, and Alex turns around to see the top of someone's head peeking out the tiny glass window they'd forgotten about.

She rolls her eyes at the intrusion and tries to reach for something to cover the blonde up with, but it's useless since her clothes are scattered around the floor. She puts an arm behind her, reaching for Piper's back and motioning for her to walk away from the table right behind Alex so her exposed skin won't be showing. They move to a corner where there's a blind spot and Alex lifts her pants up from her ankles without closing the button.

They scan the room for Piper's clothes and she eventually puts them on after messing up the holes in her t-shirt. When the girl is halfway dressed, Alex walks over to the door and opens it enough to only put her face out "What the fuck, Nick"

"Well that was interesting to watch. You are two lying motherfuckers, aren't you? I knew you were fucking"

"Nicole"

"Relax, relax. I came to check on your hand but it seems to be working fine" she smirks, looking at the still coated fingers holding the door slightly open "Also, next time you two wanna fuck in the office, try to keep it down a notch. I was knocking and interrupting so a certain Italian creep wouldn't come here himself, so you two owe me one"

"We owe you for watching us?!" Piper storms closer to the door, upset at the short girl, looking ready to jump into her and ready to attack, grabbing the door to open it so she can impose herself over the short girl

"Hey, hey. I didn't mean to watch. Super hot, though, I gotta give it to you. Nice job, blondie"

"Fuck you, Nicky"

Alex rolls her eyes and firms her grip on the door, placing herself between Piper and Nicky to avoid any actual confrontation

"Looks like stretch here was already doing that to you" she shrugs and starts to walk away "You should be happy it was me and not Marco. You'd be all over the internet by now"

"What does she mean?"

Alex shrugs, closing the door and locking it again, but Piper places her hand on the door lock "Seriously, Alex. What did she mean by that?"

"He has a history of exposing nude pictures of girls to the kitchen guys" she licks her lips that still had Piper's taste in them. It brings her back to the reality of what they'd just done and she realizes how much she enjoyed it. She tries to kiss her, but the girl backs away

"Alex!" Piper takes a step back "Our coworker just saw us having sex!"

"I think I liked it better when you moaned out my name, that tone you just used... not so nice"

Piper tries to hold back a smile in hopes of keeping a straight face on "Alex..."

"That's better. Not as good though" she moves closer to Piper, placing one hand on her cheek and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer into a kiss that causes the girl to eventually relax again. As Piper loosens up and kisses her back, she bites the girl's bottom lip. "We'll get there"

The blonde pulls away, still trying to hide her smile as she unlocks the door to get back to work, leaving a smirking Alex behind.

————-

Since starting the new job, every now and then, small conquests seem to remind Piper that she's still alive; That things can get better.

She's aware that it sounds dramatic but she'd been so miserable since the pregnancy that getting back on the happiness train meant taking many long stops along the way. Some had a nice view, others not so much.

Tonight, though, she was reminded of a sensation she hasn't felt in a long while:

pleasure.

And as she sat on the couch in her cramped living room, scrolling through tv channels mindlessly, her mind is filled with memories from what she'd done in the office earlier that night. What they'd done.

How she got the courage to go to Alex and fuck the shit out of her. How her raspy voice sounded as she moaned out Piper's name; how her body had curved into hers, how it made her shake, but especially how she tasted. The memories were sending shivers down her spine and getting her hot again, trying hard not to forget a simple second of it because it'd been so fucking insane she was afraid they would fade away.

And then, as if it wasn't enough for her to handle, she remembered how Alex turned things around and fucked her.

How Alex desired her.

If the memories were to eventually be gone, she was going to take advantage of them while they were still fresh.

Pulling her hand between her pajama shorts and her underwear, Piper starts touching herself to the memories. She was still lightly swollen from their encounter, but far from satisfied. If she couldn't have Alex again right this moment, she could at least fuck herself as she remembered every detail of what she had done to her.

———-

As a new day starts, the first thing Alex does after opening her eyes is check her phone.

Piper had left the restaurant without saying goodbye after their heated session in the office, but despite being somewhat bothered by it, Alex wasn't surprised; she was quickly learning that Piper is completely unpredictable.

Still, she's not so happy as she scrolls through the notifications on the screen and doesn't see the one name she'd hoped for.

——

When she returns to the restaurant a couple days later(after making herself incredibly late by losing track of time due to Noemi being surprisingly quiet for a long enough period of time that allowed her to take a really long shower, for the first time in weeks), she notices the Christmas decorations are up and the place looks somewhat decent, compared to the questionable signs that decorated the walls and hadn't been taken off.

They'd done a good job.

Her and Alex, that is. Who cares who actually put the decorations up; they'd been a good shopping team.

She does, however, feel somewhat guilty for not sticking around to put them up, but what would that mean? Would it even mean anything? Would it be too much time spent with Alex in a day?

"You're late"

The raspy voice that comes from behind her startles Piper back to reality from being lost in her thoughts as she stares at the mistletoe that hung by the entrance to the bar(one that they hadn't purchased, by the way).

"Jesus, Alex" she presses her hand on her chest, feeling her rapid heartbeat "You scared the shit out of me"

Alex chuckles at the cursing and walks away, before turning her face around "Seriously though, your tables are already sat. Alessa is bitching to the kitchen staff that she's in the weeds. It's too early for me to deal with this so go clock in"

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

Alex rolls her eyes at her questioning and the fact she completely ignored her pleas for her to start the shift "Wouldn't you like to know?" she says as she walks out, smirking because she knows the blonde is now tremendously curious.

———

Once the lunch shift starts to die down, it's about halfway through the afternoon, so it's no coincidence that the last costumers are in need of a caffeine quick so they can continue with their daily activities.

Piper struggles with trying to measure the right amount of milk needed for this order, already suspicious that it won't be correct.

Making coffees is her new definition of punishment for not pursuing an actual career - no matter how many times she's tried, getting the right foam from the milk or even pouring it nicely on top of the cup usually end in failure and a mess all over the machine.

She's learned the hard way - if you don't use enough milk, the pressure from the hot air blow will spill both water and milk all over your hands.

The order for a macchiato, according to the "cheat sheet" on how to make each coffee that hung on the wall behind the machine, says you need no more than a teaspoon of foamed milk on top of the espresso shot. But warming up such an small amount of the white liquid meant more of a bubbly mess than anything.

Her frustration grows bigger as she notices Alex watching her. The brunette was in a conversation with one of the chefs but watching Piper from the corner of her eye and holding back a smile.

Piper hates not doing things right.

Especially when it makes her look like a fool in front of someone that intimidates her.

"Here. Let me teach you how to make a proper macchiato"

Piper sighs and rolls her eyes, admitting defeat.

"First of all, you use this cup, not the espresso one" Alex grabs a small transparent cup, and drinks Piper's previous attempt like a shot "You make the espresso" she says as she changes the capsule and presses the button for it to start. She looks at the already frothed milk "This is not too bad, just froth it a bit more, careful not to burn the milk"

She takes the small cup out from the machine stand and places it on the counter, twisting it and motioning for Piper to take over "Spin it around so the layers will separate"

"It's working!"

Alex chuckles and grabs a spoon to use for the milk "Give it a couple more spins and we'll pour the milk. You're going to want some liquid and some froth, so don't pour it too fast" she proceeds to move the liquid with the spoon, making sure it was the right consistency and hands it to the blonde "That's right, a little more. Now spin it around again to separate the milk. Don't drop it!" she lets out a laugh when Piper almost makes the drink tumble over "So clumsy"

Piper playfully elbows her, smiling at the beautiful creation "Is this right?"

"Yeah" she says, looking at the girl and not the drink "It's definitely right"


End file.
